Five Nights in Equestria
by RandomHamster33
Summary: A night at Freddy Fazbear's isn't the most enjoyable thing. Sometimes, it's worse for the animatronics who work there. Foxy's nights are always like that. His happiness is done . . . or is it? P.S. More than five nights. This follows canon for the most part, but some parts are a bit different.
1. Dreams

_Scritch scratch scritch scratch_

The pirate's claws clicked on the linoleum floor, the underlying sounds of machinery at work quiet. The half-exoskeleton tail swished back and forth, but not from joy. It was a simple, programmed action that the fox had no control over, even after all these years of being ignored and left to rust.

Foxy, as the pirate was recognized, flipped up his black eyepatch as he reached the window. His golden eyes gazed up into the sky, the moonlight reflecting off the shining glass. He sighed, leaning against the window frame, his patchy arms folding as his back legs bent. He remained in that position, staring into the shining abyss.

Soon, the echo of heavier footsteps echoed behind him. Foxy held in a deep sigh and didn't turn around.

"Foxy."

Freddy's voice resounded from behind him. Foxy didn't even bother to hold his sigh in this time and let it out loudly.

"Foxy, you should get back to the Cove," Freddy suggested, though by his tone of voice, it didn't seem much like a suggestion.

"How 'bout no," the pirate growled, promptly deciding to ignore the bear's 'suggestion.'

"Someone's going to see you, and they're going to be worried. We don't need anyone seeing you."

"No one's goin' ta see me." Foxy's accent was thick.

Freddy glared, and the pirate caught it in the reflection of the window's glass. His large, red ears lowered.

" . . . F'ne. Jus' . . . jus' give me a few minutes, will ya?"

Freddy gave him a narrowed glance, but nodded and started off down the hallway, back towards the storage room where they were kept. Foxy waited until he was gone before giving all his attention back to the night sky.

_Once again, I'm alone. But at least I can't hurt anyone when I am. Not like . . . back then. . ._

Foxy saw something whiz past, right beside the moon. His eyes snapped to where it went.

_A shootin' star? Well, the humans always said ye could wish on 'em. Might as well try._

The pirate's eyes closed firmly and he furrowed his eyebrows, putting his worn metal hand and hook together. It was quite an awkward combination.

_Please, someone, _somethin', _that's out there, please listen to me. I need another chance. Me whole life is ruined, all because of one day._ Foxy's thoughts, as always, drifted to the horrible day in 1987. _I've messed up. I need help._

"Foxy! It's going to turn to morning! Get back to Pirate Cove!" Freddy's voice resounded down the hallway. Foxy sighed, his ears falling back on his head. His eyepatch fell back into place and he straightened up. The wagging of his tail started as he walked away from the hallway.

* * *

><p>The Princess of the Moon stood on the balcony. She was protecting the night, like always. A smile formed on her face, and Luna lit her horn. A blaze of light shot across the sky, across the moon's path of light.<p>

Shooting stars were not that rare in Equestria, because the things needed to make them were created very easily with magic. Oftentimes, the moon princess would just create one to hear the wishes of her subjects. All the words spoken to the comet would bounce back into her mind.

_. . . please, listen to me. I need another chance. . ._

Luna's ear twitched, her face contorting into one of confusion. The desperate note in the plea refused to go away. She'd heard many a broken ponies wishing on her shooting stars, but never one this hopeless. Luna tuned into it.

_I need help._

It ended like that, a final cry for assistance. Luna bit her lip. She'd almost never actually granted a wish; only the truly desperate ones. And this was one of them.

But whatever had wished was not of this world. Perhaps, that is why it needed help.

"Do not worry, young one, for we shall offer you assistance," Luna whispered quietly, her horn glowing as she slipped into the dream world. Her surroundings changed gradually, the land of Equestria spread out before her changing into a dark place full of dimly glowing stars. Luna started down a starry road, going towards the door at the end of it. Upon reaching it, her horn lit and it swung open.

A bright light enveloped the Princess. Instantly, she was in a room full of small things, which were frolicking and skipping about. They seemed somewhat subdued, however, until a purple curtain swung open to reveal a metal thing that resembled a fox.

"Arg, me mateys! Who be ready to play with Foxy?" the rusty-hued bipedal fox asked loudly. Immediately, there was a chorus of cheers. Princess Luna watched this, her interest peaked.

"Now, little ones, we be goin' on an adventure! What do we need first?" 'Foxy' declared, putting his hook and hand on his trouser-clad hips.

"The map! The map!" cried the children, as the Princess could only assume they were, for how small they appeared to be compared to the pirate onstage.

"Yes! Yes, the map! Good job, lads!" Foxy jumped off stage, careful not to step on any child. He walked right past Luna, not even knowing she was there at all. The pirate searched under a box and pulled out a rolled up scroll. "'Tis it! Now-now-now-"

The children stopped, confused, as the fox repeated, his arms twitching. Luna frowned as a larger bipedal stepped up and began clearing out the children from the area. They were pushing back though, wanting to know what was wrong with their beloved Foxy.

"Hang on there, Foxy. I'll fix you in just a second," the adult said, still attempting to escort kids out.

"Now-now-now-now what do-do-do-do-"

"Foxy! I can help you!" a small child cried, dodging in between the adult's legs. He ran up to the metal creature and grabbed onto its pant leg.

With a fearsome roar, Foxy struck. The child screamed and it all seemed to go in fast forward for the sovereign watching the gruesome display. Crimson blood spattered across the floor, and then the dream ended.

Luna yelled in astonishment as she was thrown out, much more quickly than any other time. She skidded across the starry path, her legs and wings spread out for balance. She looked up and saw a burnt and charred area where the door used to be. It contrasted sharply with the blue of the world around her.

With a sad sigh, she returned to the waking world. Her mind was set.

"We shall help you, Foxy. We shan't let you be alone," Luna said quietly, a midnight blue aura surrounding her horn. With a flash, it was done. She smiled.

* * *

><p>The camera's red dot blinked as it watched Pirate Cove. As soon as it faded, the security guard going to check a different room, the fox pulled open the dark purple curtains. He froze, waiting.<p>

After a few minutes without being checked, Foxy creeped off the stage to the very edge of the camera's vision. His neck fell sharply to the side at a ninety degree angle. His eerie yellow eyes stared at the camera.

That's when the weird sensation started. A slight tingle that ran up his circuits, making them seize up and causing the fox to become frozen.

_What? What's goin' on?_

There was a strange glow appearing over his scratched metal. It was a deep blue, and it flowed like water. It shone in the darkness of Pirate's Cove. Foxy moved his eyes to look at it.

_Some sort 'a bug? . . . I've definitely fell in disrepair . . ._ An ear twitched on his head.

Foxy could feel the stuff moving around on his body, causing his controls to shake. He was able to move again. Knowing it had been quite a while since the guard checked the camera, he decided it was time to strike. With a single, swift movement, Foxy ducked underneath the camera's vision and sprinted around the halls.

His paws pounded on the floor as he ran, jaw working up and down as it flopped from its hinges. The glow on his body didn't go away; if anything, it only intensified. Now mildly concerned as he thumped on the door, draining a large amount of power from the remaining percent, he frowned and began making his way back to his Cove.

The light shone brighter still.

"Foxy? What are you doing? You're glowing!" a female voice sounded from behind him. The pirate glanced backwards. Chica wore a frown, wings on her hips.

"I don' know. It jus' started happenin'," Foxy admitted, glancing at the glow on his fur.

"You need to go back to Pirate Cove, and stay there. You're jeopardizing this mission." With an angry huff, she turned her tail feathers, slinking down the opposite hallway.

Foxy's ears lowered in defeat as he slowly walked down to Pirate Cove. He vanished behind his starry curtain.

_Aye, Chica is right. T'was jus' ruining our goal. I should jus' stay in 'ere._

Foxy tried to pat out the odd shining on his body, but its power continued to strengthen. In a matter of minutes, it was unbearable. He jumped in his suit as it began to make him feel lighter.

"Hey! What's goin' on?" the pirate cried to himself, shaking his whole body. He saw little trails of light floating off of him. Taking a chance, he rushed down the halls in one swift movement. He had to get to Freddy; he was the only one who could probably help him.

"Foxy! You idiot boy! Get back!" the bear growled as he cornered the pirate as they stood in the room with only the sound working: the kitchen.

"Ya gotta get this off 'a me!" Foxy exclaimed, waving his arms. Freddy approached and grabbed ahold of a skinny, damaged arm.

"I don't know what's happening to you," he said after a moment of inspection.

"Worthless! Do somethin'!"

Receiving only a firm slap across his muzzle for the insult, Foxy toppled to the floor with a series of metallic clangs. He shook his head back and forth, blinking.

"Don't take that tone with me, cub. Just because I don't know what's going on does not mean anything. Now, until this blows over, go back to the Cove," Freddy ordered, pointing. Foxy glowered, his ears pressed to the back of his head. The bear showed his teeth. _"Now."_

Willing himself to get up on his feet, the pirate slowly slunk back to his home. Freddy glared after him, eyes dark.

_I can't believe it! After all I've done!_ Foxy growled. He then stopped. _Okay, so maybe I can, but still!_The pirate growled under his breath, his eyes glittering with evil intent. He looked over to the camera.

_Is it just me, or is everything blurry?_

With that final thought, the pirate collapsed to the ground in a heap.

* * *

><p>Foxy awake with a start. His circuitry felt fried; sparks leaped out of the gaping hole in his chest where his exoskeleton showed through.<p>

The first thing Foxy noticed was he didn't feel normal. He seemed more . . . alive, in the meaning of feelings. He was still an animatronic, of course, but he didn't appear as he had in the pizza place. He was more realistic, though looking more like a cartoon than anything else. And fur. How odd.

Shaking his furry head, the pirate glanced around. Around him was a giant forest. A single shaft of moonlight shone through the dense leaves. The pirate attempted to stand up, but his controls sparked and he fell forward onto all fours. A loud groan emanating from his exoskeleton, Foxy made his wobbly way over to the source of light.

_Ugh . . . land's sakes! Where am I?_

Foxy's eyepatch flipped up. The light shone brightly into his face, even with how small it was. The rest of the forest was nearly pitch black. Glancing about, he formulated a plan to get out of . . . wherever he was. The fox turned and started off on a worn path off to the side, through a split in between two trees. His tail hung limply between his legs, the circuits fried. Thankfully, nothing else seemed too terribly broken, except for his creaking back. He let his head droop, shoulders hunched.

_Aye, this is goin' ta be rough._ The pirate plodded on for what seemed like forever. Though in reality it was only like an hour. He wasn't known for being patient.

Foxy heard something creak behind him. He swiveled around, hook raised. His yellow eyes searched the area in caution.

_Whatever 't is, I'm sure I can 'andle it._

Something rustled in the trees. Leave swayed back and forth on their wooden perches.

"Show yourself, ye coward!" Foxy snarled, flipping his eyepatch down. His golden eye shone in the dark.

A roar ripped through the air, startling the animatronic. He watched as a large, yellow furred beast emerged from the darkness. It had leathery purple wings and a giant scorpion tail that curled over its back. Its paws were huge, and it was definitely much bigger than Foxy. Said pirate lowered his ears but didn't back down. Although maybe he should have, as the creature was bounding towards him.

"Aye, ye landlubber! I'll show ye to mess with me!" Foxy growled, running at full speed right back at the lion-like beast. His efforts were not rewarded, however, as a massive paw swiped the metal fox right out of his path with a blur of red and gold. Foxy crashed against a tree and fell to the forest floor. Sparks shot out of his chest and his jaw tilted to the side, damaged even more.

The beast approached, its poisonous tail poised to strike. The pirate wasn't downed for long. With a swift roll, he was out of the way and delivering a sharp bite to its hindquarters. It let out a piercing screech and swung around in the blink of an eye.

Emitting a yelp of pain, right before it was cut off, Foxy tumbled across the trail, head over tail. Pain shot through his circuits. He dizzily came to a stop and tried to shout at the bumbling beast, but found he couldn't. His speaker was no longer functional.

_Maybe it's best I get outta 'ere!_

With that fear induced thought, Foxy shot up and scuttled through a clump of low growing plants framed by trees. The beast behind him roared in agitation, but didn't follow. It instead settled for emitting a few complaining grunts and went on its way.

Foxy felt a grin make its way onto his broken maw. He scrambled out of the plants and dusted himself off before returning to his journey.

* * *

><p>His metal feet carried the fox fairly far. In what was about five hours, he was at the edge of the forest. Dim light told Foxy that it was very early morning wherever he was. The pirate stepped tentatively out of the dark forest, checking his surroundings.<p>

In the distance, he could make out some sort of town. It looked tiny from where he stood. Maybe someone was there that could help him?

_Arg, I be needing to get there . . . but where is there in the first place?_

Foxy lifted up a back paw and scratched behind his ear absentmindedly before shaking his head. He needed to go and get help . . . but it's not like he needed help! He was a pirate, for goodness sakes! He could do whatever he pleased, whenever he pleased! But . . .

What else was he supposed to do?

Besides, his circuitry was damaged and he couldn't talk. There wasn't much _to_ do besides get help.

So, his electronic mind made up, the fox set off towards the town . . .

A cottage came quite a bit earlier before the town. It was a nice little place, with a stream that had a bridge crossing over it. The cottage had a thatched roof and a . . . horse door? Foxy didn't know much, but he did know some things. And horse doors, no matter how odd it may seem, had been one of them.

There was a large garden surrounding the cottage, and dozens of small animals traipsed through it on silent and not-so-silent paws.

Foxy slowly approached it. But then, he froze. His circuits locked up and he found it hard to do anything besides stand there.

_What I be doin'? Go!_ Foxy urged himself on, but he just couldn't bring himself to. _This again? Am I really . . . shy?_ The moment brought back memories of when he was first introduced to the other animatronics. . .

"Okay you guys, here he is!" the engineer, his name Zach, exclaimed, throwing the newly finished Pirate's Cove's starry curtains open. In the center, there was a small wooden ship, though it was large enough so that an animatronic could be inside.

Neither Freddy, Bonnie, nor Chica said anything. The room became silent.

"Uh, Zach?" Chica started, glancing around the ocean decorated space.

"Where is he?" Bonnie questioned, bouncing forward. His metal nose wiggled.

Zach sighed. "Foxy's a bit shy. Don't worry, I'll get get him." He smiled at the trio. "Just be careful when you see him, okay? I don't want his circuits freezing."

"Got it. Just get him out here!" Freddy declared with a hearty laugh.

"I bet he's so cute," Chica purred, grinning.

"Of course you'd think that," Bonnie the Bunny groaned, rolling his eyes.

"Foxy? Foxy, the others are here to see you. They've never seen you before," Zach said, searching around the pirate ship. He stopped on the other side of it. He crouched down, placing one hand on the hull of this ship for balance. "Foxy."

The animatronic tried to sink deeper into the floor. He emitted a few low pitched sounds, avoiding eye contact with the engineer.

Zach smiled gently, setting a warm hand on the pirate's back. "Come on, Foxy. It's okay. They may seem intimidating, being a bit-well, maybe more than a bit-older than you, but they aren't going to hurt you."

Foxy's tail tucked under his body and his eyepatch lowered over his eye. "Are ye sure?"

"I'm sure," Zach laughed. "Come now, your circuits are going to freeze."

The pirate gave a quiet squeak before grabbing onto the ledge of the ship. He peeked his head over it, eyes barely showing over the wood. His ears tilted backwards.

The trio gasped at the sight, their eyes wide. They stared.

Shying away again, Foxy dropped out of their sights. He quivered behind the wooden pirate ship.

Zach sighed. "Foxy. Say hello, will you?" he asked gently.

Foxy shook his head stubbornly. He put his paw and hook over his face.

"Don't you want to meet them?"

"N-no."

"But what about the children? Won't you want to have the courage to talk in front of them as well?"

Foxy's head popped up. The children. Something stirred in his controls; he _cared_ about the children. He didn't know why, but he couldn't hurt the children. His job was to make them happy.

"I . . ."

"Is everything okay?" Freddy piped from the other side of the stage. "We can come back later."

"No, no, it's fine. Foxy's going to get up and say hi, _aren't you,_ Foxy?" Zach urged, looking down at the newest animatronic.

Deciding to put away his fears for now, Foxy grimaced and started to stand. His legs trembled under his weight, but he managed to get to his feet; his eyes were closed as to avoid the gazes of the others, but he was standing nonetheless.

Chica spoke first. "Aww, he's so adorable!" she squealed, clasping her metal feathers together. Foxy peeked open his non-covered eye, getting a look at who was speaking. His ears twitched.

"Hello, Foxy. It's nice to meet you," Bonnie said gently, smiling.

Freddy gave a few chuckles. "Welcome to the Freddy Fazbear's family!" He threw his large arms out in mirth.

Foxy remained silent.

"Come now, Foxy, say hi!" Zach encouraged, nudging the pirate lightly.

". . . Hi."

"He talked! Score!" Chica declared, pumping her wing in the air.

"Don't worry, my boy, we'll work those kinks out. Soon, you'll be jumping and playing with the kids just like the rest of us," Freddy declared.

Foxy tapped his hook and paw together. _Why this be so hard?_

"You know, Foxy . . ." Zach started, clicking his tongue, "I didn't know you were such a coward."

"I be no coward!" Foxy snapped, swinging around and pressing his snout against Zach's nose, getting right in his face. He was a bit bigger than the engineer, towering over him.

"Good." Zach smiled at the pirate.

Foxy's ears drooped as he realized he'd been tricked. He turned around to look at the other animatronics. They were staring again. Foxy stared back. Metal in his face heated up, and his circuits froze. After not moving for what seemed like forever, Zach sighed.

"He froze," he said with exasperation in his voice. The engineer looked at the others. "It's best if you just left for now. Foxy'll be up and running again shortly."

"Of course," Freddy accepted, nodding his large head.

"Man, I wanted to play with him," Chica whined, her shoulders slumping as they turned away.

"I do hope we can get him to come out of his shell," Bonnie agreed.

When they were all gone, Zach turned back to Foxy.

_We've never had one this shy . . . could this mean Foxy will never be ready for the stage?_

* * *

><p>"La, la, la, la~" came a beautiful voice from the animal sanctuary, stopping the pirate's reminiscing. It was making its way towards him. Foxy shied away and dropped down to all fours, crouching beside a thick bush. Although he tried to stop it, his circuits trembled.<p>

"Hello, Nuts, hello, Acorn," said the voice. It was obviously female. A few chitters were heard. "Yes? What? A monster!" She sounded surprised and alarmed.

Foxy grimaced and tried to dig himself a hole to hide in. Dirt covered his hands and stomach.

_Sometimes I be cursin' this here hook._ Foxy glared momentarily at the added part of his body before returning his focus to the female.

"Okay, I'll look. Don't you worry." Hearing steps toward him, the pirate scurried away, bouncing over to hide in a patch of tall flowers.

"Hello? Is that you, Angel Bunny? Are you playing tricks on the others again?" she called, still approaching. The steps got nearer.

Foxy rolled backwards, ending up falling into the small stream with a splash. He would've yowled in shock, but it chilled his circuits and made them spark and spasm.

"Ahh!" the female screamed. Foxy barely saw the shape of something before it ducked behind a bush.

The pirate gained control of his rapidly deteriorating controls and leaped out of the stream. His fur was wet and he felt like he'd never rid himself of the rust this would surely cause. He shook his fur out with a few quick motions, water spattering across the garden.

"Wait! What are you doing?" she called. Foxy heard steps and then nothing. He spun around from where he'd been planning to scurry away and faced the female.

She glided towards him on silent wings of the warmest yellow. Four hooves were held underneath her belly. A pink mane and tail accented her creamy coat perfectly.

Foxy stared. What else could do, anyways? He was wet and broken and diffident.

_Run!_

With a scrabbling of paws, the fox spun around on three legs and leaped forward. He stumbled as he tried to get to his back paws, where he was fastest. Besides, he couldn't run well with a hook.

"Wait! Please come back!" she yelled. Foxy heard the slightest sound of feathers batting the air as he sprinted forward at top speed.

* * *

><p>Fluttershy whimpered as she saw the thing run away on two legs, surprisingly enough. It sprinted down the road towards Ponyville.<p>

She dropped to her hooves, wings folding in. Her mind was in a frenzy. _What should I do? If the, uh, fox thing gets to Ponyville, ponies will go crazy! They'll be terrified. Just imagining how the gardening ponies will react . . ._ She shuddered, ruffling her feathers. She gave her wings a flap and hovered in the air once more.

Fluttershy tapped her chin in thought, desperately looking around. Her eyes locked onto her chicken coop and she got an idea. The pegasus swiftly flew down into her cellar, throwing the large wooden doors open. She searched about in the dark for a bit before finding a large bundle of twine. She used it to fix holes in her chicken coop and the fences, but maybe it would work to capture that fox?

Of course, it had looked like it had had some sharp teeth . . . but it was worth a try. As Fluttershy zoomed over the lands, her hooves were working frantically to make some sort of loop in the metal. It wasn't near good enough to anything that Applejack could probably do. One end was made into a noose-like thing and the rest was curled up into a roll in her other hoof.

If it wasn't for her wings, she was sure she'd have lost the fox by now. It was quite fast, but no match for wing power. That's why pegasi were so much faster than any other species of pony.

_Urg, alright, just gotta get in front of it a bit . . ._

Fluttershy managed to hover directly over it, her fore-hooves stretched forward so the wire would fall over it. But the fox saw it, much to Fluttershy's disappointment, though it didn't surprise her at all. It sped up, leaving her behind by just a bit.

Fluttershy pumped her wings harder. She was sure Rainbow Dash would be very proud of her right now if she were to see her.

_Almost there-!_

The loop of twine caught on its muzzle with a quick swing from the pegasus above.

* * *

><p>Foxy didn't get a chance to dodge the carefully maneuvered loop that was hung in front of his face. He felt it rub against his muzzle and then tighten. The flying creature stopped in midair and he was yanked backwards. His hooked hand came up and tried to claw it off his face, but it wasn't working. He instead latched onto it and pulled firmly against the force. He heard a squeak of astonishment from the female attempting to stop him.<p>

Foxy took off again, dragging her behind. The flapping of wings increased as she tried to pull him backwards. They were still quite a ways from the town, however. Dirt puffed up under the pirate's back legs.

That's when he felt something wrap around his right hind leg. A strong pull sent him stumbling onto his side in a scrabbling of limbs. Dirt covered his red fur as he splayed on the ground.

* * *

><p><em>Thank goodness, it worked!<em>

Fluttershy could've sighed in relief if not for the twine in her mouth. Her jaw was aching and her teeth felt like they were being pulled out, but she managed to hold on for that amount of time.

Her plan had been fairly simple; make another loop and get it around its leg. It'd taken a bit of hoof work, but after managing to twist the other end into some sort of recognizable shape, she'd carefully aimed for its right leg. With a fast motion, she'd looped it around the grey foot, tightening it. As soon as she's tugged upward and backwards, it'd came crashing down.

The fox writhed on the ground, attempting to rip the wire. Thankfully, it was fairly strong. She'd never needed to use much because it hardly ever broke, but when it did, she was ready.

Fluttershy quickly folded her wings in and trotted forward. The fox seemed to have calmed down a bit, but most likely not by choice. In all honesty, it seemed exhausted. And . . . sparks were flying out of its chest.

"It's okay, it'll all be fine," Fluttershy soothed as she began to delicately tie it up. She never liked to harm an animal further, but when one was in danger of hurting themselves or others, she took drastic measures. Now was a time like that. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be struggling too much. For now, anyways.

Once the fox had all its paws tied together, she ran a hoof over its head. It wiggled and tugged against the strong twine, but couldn't break free.

_I wonder why it has a hook?_ she thought, looking at the sharp curve glinting in the early morning light.

Fluttershy felt quite proud of herself. She didn't think much about that though and just took to the air. She would go get her wagon and then she'd take it back to her house. Maybe Twilight could tell her what it was?

* * *

><p>Foxy's circuit were sparking and tightening. He was unable to move because of the water damage. It was surprising he'd even made it that far.<p>

He felt her hoof run over his head and then had heard her leave. Her wings were quiet and nearly impossible to hear. Honestly, it kind of pissed him off.

Perhaps he'd care more after he was rebooted . . .

* * *

><p>Fluttershy was glad that when she came back, the fox was still tied. It's been a risky move, leaving it here, but she definitely was not strong enough to carry it all the way back to her cottage, (it had to be at least three times larger than her!) or anywhere for that matter.<p>

Recently, Equestria had made advancements in technology. They had better communication systems and forms of transportation for non-pegasi. Twilight had taken to studying these and inventing her own. Prototypes had filled her lab last time Fluttershy had been there. Maybe this was just one of her experiments that had gotten out? Better to find out than just let her worry about it.

So, the pegasus struggled to push the large, metal fox into the wagon and put the tarp she'd also retrieved over the red creature. Fluttershy put the harness over her back, letting her wings remain free. Then, fluttering her wings, she took off. The cart lifted with her, because _physics._

Fluttershy struggled a bit with the heavy cargo, a bit of sweat forming on her brow, but continued on.

**Author's Note:**

I'm sorry. I felt it went too fast, and I really wanted to not have Foxy come to Equestria until chapter two, but there wasn't much to to with him. We know what he does every night and I needed Luna to see the bite in his dream. Criticism (the _constructive_ kind), is appreciated.

I've read several stories that say Foxy was really shy. I think it's cute. ^3^ So I'm rolling with it.

Also, my first FNaF's crossover! I love Foxy! Woo!

I got the game a few days ago and beat nights 1-4 in a day. Five took a while, but mostly because I didn't have enough time to play. I love it. Best game ever. Can't wait until the sequel comes out!


	2. Fixing Up

Fluttershy landed gently in front of the giant tree that had been made into a library. She brought up a hoof and knocked three times on the wooden door. In a matter of moments, a familiar magenta aura coated the oak, pulling the door open in a fluid motion.

The sight of the purple unicorn relieved Fluttershy.

"Hello, Fluttershy. What brings you here this early in the morning?" Twilight Sparkle asked with a slight yawn succeeding her words. She'd evidently just awaken a short while prior.

"Hi, Twilight. I really need your help with something," Fluttershy answered, glancing around to make sure nopony was listening.

Twilight tilted her head. "What with?" She noticed the cart behind her friend. A hoof pointed at it. "What's that?"

Fluttershy quickly shushed the violet mare and scooted them both inside. Twilight tried to get a word in, but the pegasus didn't allow her to as she put a hoof over her mouth. She checked for the familiar purple-and-green dragon before nudging Twilight down the stairs to her lab.

"Fluttershy! What're you doing-?!" Twilight asked, shocked. She nearly tripped down the stairs as she was herded down them.

Dozens of small electronic items were scattered around the area, along with large machines and testing stations. A few areas were charred black, presumably from failed experiments.

"Twilight, have you been working on anything, um, _large,_ recently?" Fluttershy asked quickly, narrowing her eyes at the mare.

"Um, no. Mostly small stuff. Well, actually, I did try some large scale experiments, but as you can see, they didn't turn out very well," Twilight responded, waving a hoof at a large, lightning-shaped scar running along a far wall. She grumbled something under her breath. "Had to scrap 'em."

"So . . . no robots that can walk?" She raised an eyebrow. "Or run?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes slowly at the pegasus. "No . . ."

"Are you sure? Maybe it just slipped your mind?"

"No, why would it? Fluttershy, what are you talking about?" She settled for a firm glare. "Does it have something to do with whatever is in that wagon?" Twilight pointed her hoof at the cart that was still hooked onto Fluttershy's back.

The pegasus frowned. "I was afraid you would say that." She unhooked herself from the cart and scooted to stand beside it. She gripped the tarp in her jaws and yanked it off in one fluid motion, unveiling what was inside. Twilight's jaw dropped and a gasp escaped.

"Oh my Celestia!" Twilight cried, quickly rushing forward as Fluttershy started to untie it. "What is this?! This is amazing!" Magic quickly joined in on the pegasus' efforts and soon the deactivated animatronic was loose. "Fluttershy, where did you _find_ this?!" Twilight's face was covered by a giant smile that seemed like it reached from ear-to-ear.

"I found it in my garden, hiding. I chased it down after it took off and then it went inactive. Must've gotten damaged by the water," Fluttershy explained softly, watching her friend's reaction.

"Wow, this is simply divine!" She rubbed a hoof against the ragged fur.

"I was wondering if it was one of your projects."

"No, not at all! This has got to be one of the most astounding things to ever happen to me!" Twilight lit her horn, then stopped. She looked to Fluttershy.

"Yes, I was hoping you could fix it," she confirmed with a smile. Letting out a happy squeal, the unicorn lifted the robot out of the wagon and set it on a nearby work table.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! I haven't even begun and I can see it's got to be the most technologically advanced specimen in Equestria!" Twilight exclaimed, her eyes wide and sparkling. Her horn glimmered, prodding the animatronic to find a control panel through the fur. With a grin and a gasp, she flipped the fox over and the back popped open. Controls and wires were now on display to the two mares.

"Ooh, I'm so excited!" the unicorn cried with a small wiggle of happiness. "Oh! I should catalog everything!" She summoned a small recorder and held it in her magical grasp.

"Well, I'm just going to go now . . ." Fluttershy said softly, backing up.

"Yes, of course!" Twilight agreed, too caught up in getting a pair of welding goggles on. "Come back tomorrow, 'shy! Then you can see my progress!"

With a small giggle, Fluttershy unfolded her wings with a ruffle of feathers. She flew back up the stairs, leaving the unicorn to her work.

* * *

><p>Fluttershy, like Twilight had advised, returned the following day around noon. She landed on the balcony where Twilight kept her telescope in a rustling of feathers. She closed her yellow wings and trotted inside. There was nopony to be seen.<p>

_Twilight must still be in her lab . . . oh, I hope she didn't stay up all night._

A trifling feeling of trepidation fell over the pegasus as she made her way downstairs. She didn't see Spike, nor the unicorn she was looking for. She glanced around a few times before knocking on the basement door.

"Come in!" called the familiar voice. Fluttershy slid the door open. Downstairs, she heard movement and as she got closer, she could see something moving about in brief flashes of violet.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy asked cautiously. She peeked out her head from the staircase.

"Fluttershy! I knew you'd be showing up sometime! Come over here!" Twilight's voice said in a pitch or two higher than normal. Fluttershy grimaced but walked over to her friend.

The unicorn's mane was mussed up and her tail was no better, random hairs sticking up from the indigo locks. Yet, Twilight looked well rested and alive as she pulled up her working goggles from her eyes.

"Uh, hi, Twilight," Fluttershy said slowly.

"If you're wondering if I stayed up all night; I did. But I used a spell to give me a full night's rest," Twilight assured, a smile on her face. "It's really come in handy as of late. There's not even any repercussions of it, either! I can stay up as long as I want!" She squeed and rubbed her hooves together.

"Twilight, I'm concerned for your mental health."

"What?"

"Nothing. So . . . how's it going?" Her cyan gaze became focused on the much better looking animatronic laying still quite inactive on the work table. Of course, the holes and scratches that had covered it were still there, but no wires were sticking out and the jaw looked somewhat fixed.

"Splendidly, thank you for asking!" Twilight stood up from her stool and took a place beside the table. Fluttershy stepped up next to her. "It took me most of yesterday, but I succeeded in finding out a bit about the specimen. Its circuitry is exceedingly cutting-edge.

"This is definitely the preeminent thing in Equestria. No wonder you had to chase it down; the AI coded into it is _astounding._ This robot could do anything it wanted to. It could read, write—learn!" A wide grin split across Twilight's face.

"AI?" Fluttershy asked.

"Artificial intelligence. It's what makes something able to act on its own. Say, for example, that you have a robot like this, but its AI is only three. You'd have to program it do approximately everything. While this one here," Twilight elucidated, "I'd say, has an AI of roughly twenty. That means it can do _everything_ one of us can do. It's virtually living." Twilight's eyes sparkled and she rubbed its fur gently. "It's purely marvelous."

"Wow, that's really interesting." The pegasus smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. "Can it turn on yet?"

"I haven't endeavored yet—I was waiting for you." Twilight shot Fluttershy a quick smile. "But I'd say it would almost certainly work. I've fixed the motor functions and the jaw—the voice controls are located in the back of its mouth, so I did that while I was at it, too. There was a lot of water impairment. Some waterproofing measures were worked into it, but most of it had either worn off or been damaged. Maybe if it had been just a spray of water, it could've continued to be serviceable."

"Okay then. Can we try now?" Fluttershy asked, a small smile on her face.

"Of course!" Twilight declared. "I've been waiting forever to hear those words." She rubbed her purple hooves together with a maniacal grin and then levitated a pair of safety goggles to the pegasus without even looking at her. Her own came down over her almond-shaped eyes. Fluttershy quickly strapped them on, feeling them press against her neck and face. She braced herself, trying not to think about the charred and decimated sections of the lab.

"Alright, here we go!" Twilight announced, her eyes wide underneath her goggles. She flipped a switch on the inside of the controls and closed the panel, then sat it up on the table. From the animatronic came a soft humming. Static crackling was heard through it. The golden eyes of the fox lit up slowly, the shining irises glimmering.

"It's working!" Twilight squealed quietly in excitement, her grin expanding. Fluttershy gave a small, nervous laugh, starting to have second thoughts about this whole thing.

The fox sat there. The eyes stared forward.

* * *

><p>Foxy felt his systems rebooting.<p>

_Well I'll be! Someone did fire me up after all! Wonder who did . . ._

A blurry image made its way into his circuits. He could see brown mixed with gray and some other colors in front of his face. Violet and yellow blended together with a bit of pink and blue, but he couldn't distinguish any actual shapes. His eyesight slowly adjusted. Two creatures were brought into view.

The yellow female, as Foxy was not sure this was a _horse,_ and a purple—presumably female also—creature gazed at him. They were much smaller than him, he could tell. The pirate remained silent.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the purple one's grin fell. She cocked an eyebrow and flicked her gaze over him.

"Uh, Twilight, did it work?" the yellow one whispered quietly, leaning into the other.

"I thought it would. Its eyes are glowing; something happened," she replied. She lifted a leg and tentatively brought herself a step forward. "Um, hello? Can you hear me?"

Foxy didn't know what to do. Should he answer? If this thing fixed him, then maybe it could tell him where he was. Maybe.

He slowly nodded, a few groans emanating from his exoskeleton as he did so.

"Oh, good! It seems like you're a little stiff, huh? Here, I've got some oil to fix that right up!" The violet equine-like thing's _horn_ lit up like a lantern, a magenta color casting its faint light onto the surrounding areas.

Foxy's eyes widened upon seeing it. That pattern! That's what had been all over him in the restaurant. Albeit it had been a blue, and a much darker blue than this color, it was still the same distinct energy.

"Here you go," she said, lifting the oil can up to the back of Foxy's neck. He felt the lubricant slide down his gears. "Is it better now?" With a quick roll of his shoulders, he nodded.

"Splendid!" she cooed, a grin splitting her face even more. She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "So . . . can you talk?"

Foxy couldn't help but look down, the circuitry in his face heating up. He rubbed his metallic paw over his gleaming hook. He could feel the eyes of the two equines on him.

"Twilight?" the yellow one asked from the place she was in—still behind the purple one.

"Yes?" 'Twilight' turned to face her.

"Can you give me a few moments with it?"

"Huh? Why?" 'Twilight' cocked an eyebrow, tilting her head with the motion.

"Just trust me, please." She gave her a small smile, trying to reassure the violet colored equine.

"Well . . . I don't know. What if something happens?" 'Twilight' asked, frowning. The yellow one took a tiny step forward and leaned into her ear. Foxy could hear her whisper something, but couldn't make it out.

'Twilight' brought her head back, a frown still on her face. "Okay then. If you think you can. I trust you, Fluttershy. Just be careful." She started towards the staircase. "I'll be right upstairs. Spike is probably still asleep. I should get him up." The female started up the steps.

'Fluttershy' waited until she was gone and heard the door close gently from the top of the stairs. She took a few steps forwards.

* * *

><p><em>I hope this works, <em>Fluttershy thought. A feeling of unease wormed into her mind. She approached the fox sitting silently on the work table.

"Hello," Fluttershy started softly. She stood before it. "I'm Fluttershy. What's your name?" There was no response; no surprise for the pegasus.

"You know, I'm shy, too. I mean—I'm not assuming that you're shy—for all I know you're the boldest, um, _fox_ out there, but"—Fluttershy felt her confidence draining away—"Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe your voice just isn't working." She scraped a buttery hoof against the wooden floor.

_I shouldn't have asked Twilight to leave . . . maybe she just needed to repair something . . . Wait, you know what? I'm sure I'm right! I can't give up now!_

Puffing up her chest to prepare herself, Fluttershy kept her gaze to the floor. "I just, you know, see all the signs of diffidence. I understand if you're quiet. I'm sure you had a really hard time." She tentatively glanced up. Two golden eyes stared back at her.

A low humming came from the animatronic. Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she took a teeny, cautionary step back.

"I be Foxy," came the low reply. Static crackled with its voice, but she could still hear the words.

"Foxy? Oh. I nearly thought you were a boy!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

Foxy looked at her with a deadpan expression on 'her' face. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow before realizing her mistake. She blushed red and let out a stammered beginning of a sentence.

"O-oh, I'm so sorry! I just thought—" she stuttered. Her eyes shot to every corner of the room except for at the fox. "I mean, uh, uh . . ." She shrank back, hiding behind her hair.

Foxy stared at her. After a few moments, he apparently decided he should say something. "Aye, it be 'right, lass. Not the first t'me . . ." he ended with a grumble.

Fluttershy peeped out from behind her mane, one large cyan eye opening. She blushed and tried to give Foxy a small smile, but it ended up as more of a grimace.

_Easy, Fluttershy. I just need to stay calm and collected. I highly doubt this robot is going to judge you. After all, I made him speak! Twilight will definitely appreciate that._

"Uh, F-Foxy, so, um, where are you from?" the reticent pegasus asked quickly. She brushed a bit of pink hair of her eyes.

Foxy paused, shrinking back on the table.

"It's okay." Fluttershy felt her nervousness dissipating as the animatronic's hesitant nature became noticeable again.

_This isn't so bad. Maybe I can help him._

"Whenever you feel comfortable. I don't mind waiting. If you need a bit of time to yourself, I can leave." Fluttershy gave her wings a few flaps to sit on a nearby stool. Her tail swung down by the floor.

* * *

><p>Foxy stared.<p>

_For cryin' out loud! Jus' stop._

"No . . . I be fine. It's jus' . . . odd?" the pirate rumbled. His voice was crackling but there wasn't much he could do about that.

Fluttershy, as she'd introduced herself as, leaned forward on her perch.

"What's odd? Being in our, uh, world? I mean, I'm presuming you're not from here. We've never seen anything like you, and Equestria's technology definitely isn't advanced enough for you to even exist," she commented. She shifted her fore-hooves.

Foxy blinked a few times. _Of course. Just my luck. But it makes sense, I guess._

"Equestria?"

"Oh, yes, that's where we are. It's our nation's name," Fluttershy said.

"Uh . . ." Foxy paused. He didn't even know where the restaurant was, how would he know what planet?

Fluttershy frowned. "Oh my, is something wrong?"

"Are you all . . . _horses?"_

"Um, mostly. It is predominantly equine, though we refer to ourselves as ponies. In the other countries, such as Griffonia and Zebrifa, there's griffons and zebras. You won't find many species of intellectual beings other than ponies in Equestria."

_. . . So, magic land?_

Foxy nodded, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. This place sure was odd.

"How are you feeling?" Fluttershy asked. She tapped her front hooves together lightly.

With a shrug, the pirate looked down at the floor.

"Well, the unicorn you saw earlier is Twilight. She's the one who fixed you—I asked her to. I hope she did a good job." Fluttershy smiled at him. "Are you feeling okay? Maybe . . . I could bring Twilight back down here?" A concerned frown formed on her lips. "I mean, only if you're comfortable. She's very eager to learn about you, and if that makes you uncomfortable, then I'll tell her to wait for however long it takes," she finished with a caring look on her features.

_Perhaps this Twilight could help me get back to the restaurant . . . but then again, why would I want to? I'm broken and unwanted . . . I could at least try to understand what happened to me._

"Ye can let the lass in," Foxy decided. Fluttershy's ears tilted forward, a small smile tugged at the ends of her lips.

"Okay. I'll get her," the pony replied, flapping her wings a few times to lift herself off the chair. She traveled across the room and up the stairs. In a few moments, she returned, the purple one behind her.

Twilight was no longer grinning, but had a more serious look on her face. She'd obviously heard the circumstances of the situation and was no longer here just to help herself.

"Hello, Foxy. That's your name, right?" Twilight started. A clipboard was picked up with her energy.

* * *

><p>"I am," came Foxy's low and somewhat rough reply.<p>

"Hmm . . ." Twilight took a few notes on her clipboard and then levitated it to the other side of her body as she went closer to the fox. She used her magic to open his jaw, much to his surprise, and with a few tricks in the back of his throat, she let it swing shut again.

"There, that should help. You had some static interference," the purple pony explained, writing on her board. Foxy narrowed his eyes at her.

"Twilight, that wasn't very polite," Fluttershy warned from behind her.

"I—oh, sorry." She blushed. "Sorry." Twilight cleared her throat, "Should've told you first."

"Aye," Foxy mumbled, reaching his paw up and rubbing under his chin.

Twilight wrote some more notes and then looked up at Foxy again. "So, Foxy, I'm betting you're fairly confused. I know I have questions for you, but do you have any questions for me first?"

The fox stared at her for a moment before pointing at her horn. Twilight glanced up at his pointing finger.

"My magic! Oh yes, I'm sure you are wondering about that. Well, I'm a unicorn—Fluttershy over there is a pegasus—but only unicorns have the ability to use magic. It's essentially energy that we move with our horns, enabling us to manipulate objects and our surroundings," Twilight explained. She smiled as she demonstrated by lifting several nearby objects. "Uh, Foxy?"

The animatronic broke out of his trance upon hearing his name.

"Are you alright? You're just . . . staring," Twilight said. She tilted her head.

"That's what I saw when I was taken 'ere," Foxy explained.

Twilight's eyes seemed to get three times bigger, if that was at all possible. "What!? _Magic_ brought you here?!"

"Yes, lass."

The unicorn leaped into the air, legs churning, and vanished in a magenta flash of light. Fluttershy and Foxy—startled—sprang backwards, the pegasus ending up behind a table and Foxy on the floor with a clanking of metal.

"—amazing! I can't believe it! We need to inform the princesses!" Twilight shouted, popping back into existence. She looked around. "Oops. Must've teleported out of pure excitement!"

"Twilight?" Fluttershy hissed, her eyes wide.

"Not now, 'shy!" Twilight exclaimed. She threw herself into Foxy's face. "What did the magic look like?!"

"Uh . . ." Foxy started. His ears were pressed against his head. "T'was blue."

"Blue?" Twilight paused, standing up straight on the table. "Was it perhaps—just out of curiosity—dark blue? Like, a midnight blue?"

"'xactly it, lass." Foxy got to his feet.

Twilight's mouth fell open and her pupils shrank. Looking around, she began to breathe a bit heavier. "I—I—how? Why? Wha'?"

And with that, the purple unicorn promptly fainted.

* * *

><p>Fluttershy couldn't believe what had just happened. Mostly because she'd never seen it before.<p>

Twilight had just had a nerdgasm.

And fainted.

"Um, Foxy, perhaps we should—"

"I'm alright!" Twilight's hoof shot up from the floor. The two other creatures peered over their hiding places, looking down on her. The unicorn scrambled to her hooves, shaking her slightly frazzled mane.

"Alright. I'm alright." She blinked violet eyes before turning back to the others. "I'm pretty sure I know who brought you here!"

"And you would be correct, Twilight Sparkle," came the gruff yet melodic voice of the alicorn princess. Three heads shot over to the door, where the words had come from. Princess Luna floated down towards them, wings wide and beating the air.

"P-Princess!" Twilight gaped, quickly ducking into a bow. Fluttershy did the same, closing her wings. Foxy, however, had already ducked behind the work table once again.

"You may stand. I thank thee, Fluttershy, for getting our guest here; I also thank you, Twilight, for fixing him. Now, Foxy, you may come out," Luna said. She stood tall where she had touched down, wings out and ears pricked.

"Princess, I'm confused," Twilight started, taking a step forward.

"I shall answer your questions in good time." Luna waited a moment. "Foxy?"

"He's hiding, your majesty. Do you want me to get him?" Fluttershy asked softly.

"Hiding?" the lunar sovereign questioned. "No need." Fluttershy was about to ask something when Luna's horn lit up and grabbed the pirate from his hiding place. He let out a startled yelp as he was hauled upward, then deposited on the floor in front of Luna. He looked up at her, ears folded back.

"Foxy, I'm glad to finally meet thee." She dipped her head.

There was no response.

"Foxy?"

Nothing.

Twilight went behind him and opened up his control panel. " . . . Yep, he froze. Sorry princess. You must've gotten here after we established the fact that Foxy _does not_ like to meet new ponies."

"I scared him," Luna deadpanned. Her ears flopped backwards.

"Pretty much."

**Author's Note:**

Next chapter is going to be some serious shiz-nit. Prepare for possibly some feels and Foxy-abuse.

Plus, Spike!


	3. Foxy on the Loose

"Hmm . . . that's odd."

"What is?"

Twilight spared a quick glance over at Fluttershy, who was sitting on a nearby stool watching as she was fixing Foxy.

"His circuits are all . . . cold. I can't even move some of these wires—they're so stiff." Twilight's horn brightened as it tugged on a particularly tough wire, her face one of concentration.

"Intriguing. Perhaps a heat spell would loosen them," Luna commented from across the lab. She was examining some of Twilight's inventions, her eyes narrowed in scrutiny.

"I'd melt the plastic and rubber in here if I did that, but thanks anyway, princess." Twilight managed to get a small spark off a collection of panels using a switch, but nothing happened beyond that. The unicorn sighed, letting her head drop. "I just don't get it! Why'd he freeze up so bad? I thought we were making some progress."

Fluttershy blinked. "Luna probably just startled him, that's all. I was scared to death too when I met"—the pegasus caught the princess' glare—"came out of nowhere! That's why. She came out of nowhere." Fluttershy gave a quick laugh, avoiding eye contact with the lunar sovereign.

"I really wish he had some sort of manual that came with him. Maybe one on how to fix him," Twilight said idly. She burrowed her purple hooves into his controls, tongue sticking out as she attempted to fix_something—_

"Yar, me mateys!"

The three beings in the room started in surprise. Twilight leaped backwards on the tips of her hooves, her tail high in the air.

"It be Foxy! And welcom-welcom-welcome to the Pirate's Cove!" Foxy declared, his second outburst no longer startling the ponies.

"Twilight, what's happening?" Fluttershy asked, now hovering in the air above her friend.

"Freddy best be gettin' back to the stage, or I'll be fo-fo-fo-forced to fo-fo-fo-forced to make him walk the plank!

The three equines were frozen to the spot.

"Yarharharharharhar_-ha-har-har-harharharharhar!"_

"Twilight?" Fluttershy hissed.

"You best be gettin' b-b-back to the stage, landlubber, because these little ones are now part of the pirate c-crew!"

"Seems like some sort of . . . programmed response. I must have activated it when I was tinkering with him," Twilight responded after another moment or two.

"When in the Pirate Cove, remember to adventure safe, kiddies; no runnin' around the Cove. Or else ye be ye be walkin' the plank!"

"Must be a very old one, too. There's so much stuttering," Fluttershy commented softly, hearing the numerous skipping beats.

"Aye, is it swashbucklin' adventures that ye be seekin', la-la-lads? Or-or-or's it that or-or-or is it that you're not akin to the seven seas?"

"I should record this!" Twilight squealed quietly, getting her clipboard. She began jotting down every word from that point on.

"All pirates, give me an 'arg' an 'arg' an 'arg'! _Ahh,_ harhar-ha-ha-haha-haha! _AARRGG . . ."_

"A very broken laugh . . ." Fluttershy heard Twilight mumble almost incoherently.

"I be seein' ya'll already walkin' all abou-abou-about with your pizza in hand, and your s-s-so-sody pops like proper sea-ea-ea pirates!

"And like proper sea pirates, we will be having ourselves a sea shanty!"

Twilight perked up. _"Ooh,_ he's gonna sing!" She shook her pegasus friend in excitement. Luna, meanwhile, was frowning in silence.

"Ooohh, what do you d-d-d-do with a drunken-ken-ken sailor, what do you do with a drunken s-s-sailor, early in the morn? Put him in the l-longb-oat 'til he's sober, p-put him in the longboat 'til he's s-s-sober! . . ."

The three ponies shifted as Foxy's tone and speed got slower and deeper.

"Put him in the . . . longboat . . . 'till he's sober . . ."

Foxy's words became a low keening groan. His jaw hung open, his eyes both half lidded and dimming from their light yellow glow.

"Yeah . . . let's shut it off. We have work to do," Twilight said slowly, her tone oozing discomfort. She trotted carefully forward. She let her magic search for the control to fix and in a final moan, Foxy slumped forward from where he sat on the table. A blank, dead stare met their gazes.

"That was quite . . . something," Luna broke the silence.

"Perhaps something to study in more detail another day," the violet unicorn added.

_Why do I feel so . . . odd after hearing that? I shouldn't, but I do. Maybe Luna and Fluttershy are feeling it too . . ._

Fluttershy broke the silence after a few minutes of Twilight working on Foxy.

"So . . . can you get him working now?"

"I think so. After _that,_ his circuits are looser now. I think I've nearly got him . . ." Twilight's voice trailed off, her tongue poking out from her lips as she squinted in concentration.

"Gah!" Foxy let out a surprised yell and Twilight nearly had a heart attack. The pirate looked around wildly, his eyepatch having flipped down over his eye.

"It's alright, Foxy. It's just us," Fluttershy announced, hovering before the fox.

"Oh. S'rry," Foxy mumbled. He looked away.

"It's okay." She smiled. "Now, Foxy, this is Princess Luna. She's one of the rulers of Equestria." The pegasus backed away as she put her hooves out towards the lunar alicorn.

Luna had her wings out in an intimidating pose until she remembered what she'd just been told and quickly tucked them back at her sides.

"Greetings, Foxy. As the Lady Fluttershy said, I am Princess Luna, one of the conjoined leaders of this mighty nation. I am sorry for earlier—I was unawares," she said. She dipped her head. "I am indeed the one who brought you here."

Twilight quickly interjected, throwing a hoof out. "But why?"

Luna administered a sharp glare at the unicorn. Twilight quickly backed down, her ears folding back.

"S-sorry, princess."

"Tis alright, Twilight Sparkle. Just know your place." Luna shuffled her wings. "I know you are all wondering, _why?_ Well, just last night, I made a shooting star. Anything in the sky I make, I am bound to. It is no different with a small body of matter from outer space that enters the atmosphere to become incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a streak of light.

"I can hear many a wish when I create it, and even though you were worlds away, I heard yours. It surprised me quite a bit. Though, by the nature of your request, I accepted the challenge. I know I can help you, metal fox, but only if you are willing to accept it. For that is why I brought you to Equestria; so you can seek forgiveness and become a better creature for it.

"Because I know what it is like to wallow in crushing agony for years upon years." Luna grimaced and stomped a hoof harder on the ground as she paced the laboratory. "I was quite hoping you would end up with Twilight Sparkle and her friends, as they can teach you and help you as well. Perhaps even more than I."

Foxy watched Luna with wide eyes. The alicorn turned to face him.

"I see you have concerns. Do tell."

Twilight and Fluttershy exchanged stunned glances, their eyes wide.

"Anypony? Go ahead, speak up," Luna repeated.

"What . . . are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"I suppose it is not my place to tell you, but Foxy was involved in an _accident_ a number of years ago. I shall not tell you more than that."

Fluttershy and Twilight turned around to look at the animatronic.

Luna also faced him. "You know what I'm talking about, I assume."

". . . How do ye know about that?" Foxy asked quietly. His eyes were downcast.

"I am the Princess of the Night. Naturally, I am a dream walker as well. After I heard your wish, I went into your dreams. Which, to be quite honest, I'm surprised you can even have, given your _species._ But I saw what happened . . . does it really haunt you every night?"

"Well . . . techn'cally, it's e'ry day. I do . . . other things, durin' the night." He slowly ran a long, metal finger over his hook. "But aye."

Luna's face softened, and she came closer to him. "Then we are going to help you. I saw it—you were not in control."

"No! T'was all my fault!" Foxy jumped off the work table, startling the two smaller equines. They backed away. Luna, however, stood her ground. She may have been somewhat shorter than this creature, but she wasn't frightened. "Ye do not understand what happened." Foxy's anger died down, and a wave of sadness seemed to wash over him. The large ears on his head fell backwards, and his muzzle turned towards the ground.

"I understand that you're still very upset about it." Luna flicked an ear, tilting her head.

"Jus' . . . drop it, will ya?"

"No, I will not. I brought you to Equestria for this very purpose."

"There's no hope 'a "redemption" fer me," Foxy mumbled. "That's what Freddy says."

"Then _Freddy_ is wrong," Luna retorted, going up behind the animatronic.

"He's never wrong."

"He is now."

"Ye shouldn't say that." Foxy felt a twinge of fear go down his spine.

"Why not? That's what Freddy told you, right? That he is never wrong? Well, I say he is, and I'm sure my sister will agree with me." Luna stopped. Her nose twitched. "Why are you afraid?"

"I'm not."

A large frown spread over the sovereign's muzzle. "I can sense you are."

The fur along Foxy's spine lifted and he spun around, teeth bared. His eyes glinted harshly at the princess. "Ye should not say 'nother word!"

The lunar ruler stopped, her face one of extreme surprise and indignation. She turned around, evidently trying to calm herself. Twilight and Fluttershy exchanged glances again.

"I see," was all Luna replied with. She took a deep breath. "I am sorry if I offended you." In a few minutes, she faced him again. "I shall check on you later. I still have to inform my sister of what I've done." She leaned forward, lowering her voice as she hissed into Foxy's ear.

"Do not be afraid."

Foxy frowned as the princess stepped away from him. Her eyes twinkled in sympathy before she vanished in a cloud of blue smoke.

* * *

><p>Foxy tried to block out the memories. They flooded his mind regardless, but he didn't show his feelings as they did. The princess had left and just the other two were there, watching him.<p>

"Foxy?"

The pirate turned towards Twilight's hesitant voice. She shied away as he made eye contact, but then straightened up.

"Will . . . you tell us what happened?"

"No." Foxy hunched his shoulders and turned away from the ponies again. If his tail had not still been broken, it would probably be twitching in anger.

"But if you talk about your problems, we can help you! Princess Luna's a very smart pony. She said she saw what happened, so if it was really that bad . . ." Twilight trailed off, looking at the ground.

"Please, Foxy, we just want to help. Evidently you're not getting any from wherever you're from, and I don't know how much I trust this 'Freddy'—I mean, I'm not insulting him, or saying he's a horrible person—"

"'Nuff. I don't wanna hear it," Foxy growled, trying to keep his voice down. Visions of blood and the sounds of children and adults alike screaming filled his mind.

_Don't think 'bout it . . . don't! Don't!_ Betrayed eyes flashed in front of his face. _STOP! Please . . ._

Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other with sad expressions on their faces.

"Okay then. We won't push you," Twilight said. She checked the clock hanging on the wall. "It's nearly four. Do you eat? Spike makes this amazing hotdish—"

"No, I don't," he said. "But who's Spike?"

Twilight's face became one of relief, a smile on her face. "He's my assistant. I'm sure he'd love to meet you. He doesn't have many friends that are boys." She stopped. "Hey, speaking of boys, how old are you, Foxy?"

"Hmm . . . what year is it here?"

"Well, it's 7334, but I'm sure it's different in your world."

Foxy thought for a moment. "Aye, that is diff'rent. I know what year it was when I was introduced . . ."

"Introduced?"

"Yes, I worked at a rest'rant. I was built in 1986, and the . . ." Foxy stopped, grimacing. "And a few years progressed . . . aye, I remember the calendar in the workroom said 1993. So I'm . . . seven." He seemed satisfied with that answer.

"S-seven?" Twilight stammered.

"Aye. What's so funny?" he snorted.

Twilight let loose a few giggles. "Well, it's just, it's just, maybe that's not how it works where you're from, but here, that's the age of a young . . . foal."

"Obv'sly, that's how it works in our world. Evr'y day I was surrounded by children. I know how old they were."

"So . . . you know that you're a child."

"No, I am not."

"Technically, you are."

Foxy put his hand and hook on his hip. "What're you tryin' ta say?"

Twilight just shook her head and sighed happily. "Just, just never mind. Ignore me." She looked up at Foxy. "So, you wanted to meet Spike?"

* * *

><p>"Spike! Will you come here please?"<p>

"Yeah, sure Twilight!"

The pattering of footsteps sounded from upstairs, and the unicorn looked up to find her young assistant running down the steps.

"Finally out of that lab, are you? What're you working on anyhow?" Spike asked.

"I have someone for you to meet. Now, I don't want to you freak out, but I doubt you will, so there's really nothing to worry about. It's the thing I've been working on for a day-and-a-half now," Twilight explained.

"Oooh, cool." He then paused. "Wait, what?"

"You'll see." She raised her voice. "Fluttershy, can you bring him in?"

The door to the basement swung open and the cream coated pegasus appeared, standing in the doorway. She glanced behind her, checking on Celestia-knows-what. Spike bit his lip in consternation.

Fluttershy trotted forward and then something came into view. It stood just a tad higher than the doorframe and ducked under the wood.

Spike felt his jaw hit the ground. It was some sort of fox or coyote, with patchy red fur. An eyepatch covered one eye, the other with a slightly droopy eyelid. A silver hook was covered one hand.

"What . . . is _that!?"_ Spike exclaimed, his eyes wide. He grabbed Twilight's tail.

"Spike, this is Foxy," the purple mare introduced.

"Ahoy," Foxy said.

"Uh, h-hi," Spike stuttered.

The two stared at each other. Twilight cocked an eyebrow.

"What's the matter, you two?" she asked. She glanced at them.

"Ye never said he was . . . a _kid,"_ the pirate said, putting his hand out.

"I guess. But you're one. What's the difference?"

"The diff'rence, lass, is: 1. I don't really 'ave an age that determines how mature I am, and 2. why didn't you tell me?"

"Is there something wrong with him being a kid?"

Something unrecognizable flashed across Foxy's face, but it vanished as soon as it had come.

"No, I guess not."

"Then come on! Spike, why don't you and Foxy talk?" Twilight encouraged, nudging the baby dragon at her hindquarters. "He's going to be here a while, so you'd best be getting to know each other."

"Uh, sure, Twilight," Spike said, nodding his head.

_Of all the things Twilight could do, she asks me to be friends with a robot?_

* * *

><p>Foxy tried not to let his unease show. The last time he'd played with children . . .<p>

No. Don't think about it.

Who cared if it'd been 6 years since he'd seen a child face-to-face? He still possessed the characteristics that'd made him the biggest thing at the family restaurant in years.

Then why was he so nervous?

* * *

><p>Bonnie and Chica anxiously paced the backstage area. Freddy was leaning against a wall, his eyebrows furrowed.<p>

"Freddy? What are we going to do? Where did Foxy go?" Chica finally asked, stopping in front of her colleague.

"I don't have an answer for you, my dear," Freddy responded, shaking his head. The chicken gave a small whine and continued pacing.

"At least he doesn't perform anymore, right? They won't notice he's gone," Bonnie said, his voice cracking. The bunny tapped his fingers together.

"But he's our friend!" Chica cried. "Most of the time."

"Who cares? Having him gone isn't really that big of deal," Freddy said, trying not to act like he cared.

"Freddy, don't say that. I know you two have had your . . . _differences,_ but Foxy is your friend, too! I remember when he was like our little baby . . . when he'd just been built. We even worked out all his kinks! We worked so hard and he, he . . ." Chica whimpered, putting her hands on her head.

"I wish Zach were here," Bonnie sighed suddenly, his shoulders drooping.

Freddy winced. "Don't say that name."

"But—"

_"Don't,_ Bonnie."

"He was fired years ago. No use dwelling on it," Chica agreed sadly. The three animatronics sat in silence for a while.

"Maybe the new security guard'll get fired 'cuz of it. H-how great would that be?" Bonnie chittered nervously.

"You mean Mike? He's a pansy," Freddy mumbled. "'m surprised he's even made it this long."

"Y-yeah, right . . ."

There was another silence. It seemed to last for quite a long time.

"You guys?"

"Yes, Chica?" Freddy asked. Bonnie glanced over at her.

"I miss Foxy . . ."

"You shouldn't."

"But I do. He wasn't the most stable of us, but, but, he made everything more fun, you know."

"I know what you mean," Bonnie murmured.

"Sometimes I feel like we're not nice enough to him sometimes."

"Yeah." That was Bonnie again.

"I've heard the humans say . . . 'you never know what you have until it's gone.'"

* * *

><p>Twilight and Fluttershy smiled when they heard a round of laughter from the other room. Despite the awkward beginning, Spike and Foxy actually got along great. Of course, after learning that Foxy was a children's entertainer, their fun made more sense.<p>

"I actually didn't think it'd work out that well," Fluttershy admitted. She brought her teacup up to her mouth with a wing. One feather was fixed through the handle, while two others were supporting the bottom.

"Me neither. Though I'm glad it is working. Honestly, I think Foxy just doesn't know what he can do," Twilight agreed. She took a delicate bite of her biscuit. They'd just had lunch—some of Spike's hayburger hotdish—and the two mares were now enjoying one another's company over some tea and biscuits.

Fluttershy remained silent for a few moments.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just . . . I wish we could help him. If we _knew_ what happened to him, we could." The pegasus shook her head.

"There's no point in hoping. Possibly, when he's earned our trust a little more, we can find out. Foxy seems to like you the best, so you'll probably be the one to learn. And I highly doubt Princess Luna will tell us."

Fluttershy nodded. "But you saw how he acted. He obviously hates taking about—even remembering it. I know . . . I used to have PTSD, and I can clearly see all the signs—"

"Wait, 'shy? You had post-traumatic stress disorder?" Twilight leaned forward, placing a hoof on Fluttershy's.

"Well, yes. It was way back before I knew any of you girls personally—except Dash, of course. It was one of the last days of flight school. We were asked to make a storm, and we had to pass in order to graduate."

"Why was making a storm required? That's actually kinda dangerous. Not all pegasi work with weather—you're one of the examples."

"Odd curriculum, back then. What happened with me was actually the reason they were forced to change the particulars."

"Oh. Please, go on," Twilight said.

"Okay. I was one of the first to go. Rainbow had gone a few ponies ahead of me, but was watching from the sidelines. She knew I'd been nervous all week . . . she'd helped me and coached me before-hoof, though I still felt absolutely horrid about the whole thing.

"They called me forward, and I got ready. I remember shaking violently. I moved clouds and got the electricity going—of course, I was moving fairly slow. I didn't realize how slow I was going until the lightning was striking out. The winds weren't prepared yet and I couldn't fail. I was screaming and crying and trying frantically to get the lightning under control."

"Why didn't anypony help you?"

"It wasn't that bad yet. An official can only step in after something really bad happens. I don't know what could've happened, but apparently it never happened with me."

"But—"

"You'll understand in a minute. Anyways, Rainbow was cheering me on and trying to give me advice, but the officials got angry at her and kicked her out. After that, I botched it. A bolt of lightning clipped my wing, and I fell. The officials did nothing. I could hear ponies screaming my name, but I had nearly passed out I was so scared. I guess the other students couldn't get to me because of the officials, and the storm had gone asunder. They couldn't see me.

"But thank Celestia Rainbow Dash got to me in time. I would've ended up as a splat on the ground. She heard my cries, as she'd been just outside the storm area. Rainbow flew down to me so fast I personally thought she'd made a sonic rainboom again. After she caught me, she flew off with me. We didn't even return to the school, she just headed right towards the hospital. I was treated for burns and had to stay off my wing for a few days, but that was all.

"But it was terrifying. After that event, I couldn't sleep. The terror of me falling, of me _failing,_ was too great for me to sleep or eat or do _anything._ Rainbow, as always, was worried. She took me to a therapist, who diagnosed me with post-traumatic stress disorder. And they were right—I showed all the symptoms. Sometimes, I freaked out in public . . . Dash beat everypony who made fun of me—even got several citations and was arrested one or twice—but she said she didn't care. I'm glad I had a friend like her. Eventually, after—I've got to say—two years of having PTSD, my mind cleared. I mean, it still haunts my dreams occasionally, but not as much.

"Though I am ashamed it was of something so small. Most ponies get it through the war or near-death experience. Mine was just a failed exam." Fluttershy frowned, her eyes glittering.

"Fluttershy, yours was a near-death experience," Twilight said. She reached over and gave the pegasus a hug. "Don't feel that way."

"Thanks Twilight." The pegasus smiled lightly.

"No problem, 'shy." Twilight returned the gesture and leaned back. "So, since that's out of the way, what do you say we go and checkup on our boys in the other room?"

"Yeah. I haven't heard laughing in a while, now that I think about it."

"Oh." Twilight frowned.

"Twilight!" Spike's frantic call reverberated through the library.

"Spike?!" the unicorn shrieked, leaping to her hooves. She practically flew down the stairs. Fluttershy literally did, however.

Once they got downstairs, they only saw Spike, who immediately ran to Twilight. He hugged her leg, his eyes wide.

"Spike, what happened?! Where's Foxy?!"

"He—he just freaked out. I don't know what I did, but he backed away from me and then sprinted off!" Spike explained quickly. He then pointed towards the distinctly Foxy-shaped hole in the library's wall. A few ponies skittered around outside. Sunlight poured in through the hole.

"Uh oh."

**Author's Note:**

I am so evil.

Also, you're going to have mixed feelings about Freddy in this story.


	4. Runaway

"Oooh, no, ooooh, no," Twilight moaned, running in place. Strands of indigo sprung up from her mane, messing it up from when she'd brushed it just an hour prior.

"Twilight! We need to find him," Fluttershy squealed.

"Yes! You're very right, you are. Let's not waste any more time." The trio, as Spike had decided to join them, sprinted out of the library through the large Foxy-shaped hole. A few ponies (namely, the garden ponies) were laying, passed out, on the paths.

A scream resounded across Ponyville.

"That was definitely Rarity!" Spike exclaimed, panting, as they came to a stop. The group redirected themselves to head towards Carousel Boutique.

"Hey! I can see Foxy's footprints!" Fluttershy declared. Large indentations marked out where the pirate had raced across Ponyville.

"Headed towards Carousel Boutique, I see," Twilight grumbled, letting her head drop momentarily.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Rarity! We're coming!" Spike yelled at the top of his lungs. The group picked up speed. They skidded around a corner and saw Rarity's place of business in front of them. A white shaped came flying towards them, nearly crashing through. It was Rarity, whose mane was ultimately more messy and disheveled than usual.

"Oh, my stars, Twilight, thank goodness you're here!" the white unicorn shouted. Her eyes were wide.

"Where did he go!?" Twilight demanded, not wasting any time with her friend's words.

"It barged through my house! Right through the bottom floor! There are _holes_ in my boutique!" She pointed at her residence, and upon inspection, there were large, gaping holes on both sides, in a straight path, right through Carousel Boutique.

"Ugh, really?" Twilight complained. "Don't worry, Rarity, I'll pay for the damages. Right now, we've got to go!" She and Fluttershy set off again. Spike tried to follow, but a magenta force held him back. The dragon let out a wail of indignation as he was set on Rarity's back. Twilight turned her head.

"Sorry, Spike! If Foxy is dangerous, I don't want you getting hurt!"

"If you see Rainbow Dash, could you please send her our way!?" Fluttershy called a few moments later as they vanished into Carousel Boutique.

* * *

><p><em>Run! Don't stop . . . never stop! Did I hurt him? I don't even remember . . . oh the skies above, what's happenin' to me?<em>

Trip. Stumble. His foot caught on a suspended root, sending him tumbling forwards. Two arms were thrown out to catch him.

Foxy pedaled his back legs, managing to get back on his feet. He tore through the forest. He didn't know what he was doing or why, but all he knew was he had to get away. Far away as possible.

Tree branches whipped at Foxy's muzzle, and pain ignited in his circuits. But he not dare turn back.

* * *

><p>"Twilight, how are we ever going to find Foxy in here?"<p>

Fluttershy's worried question surfaced as the duo reached the edge of the EverFree Forest. The unicorn frowned.

"We'll just have to follow his trail, if he left one. And I very much doubt that Foxy, of all creatures, isn't going to leave some sort of clue to where he's gone," Twilight responded. The pair slowed down as they traveled the first few meters into the darkness. Above their head, branches were scratched and even broken.

"I guess you're right," the pegasus said. She scrunched down, her wings ruffling on her back from fear. "The Everfree Forest is where Foxy first came from. He ran out of there, I think." She started at a nearby hoot of an owl. "We should ask him later."

"I thought he first showed up in your garden?"

"Well, that's when I saw him, but I observed some traces of plants from the EverFree. Sorry I didn't tell you."

"That's all right." Twilight shook her head. "You can't remember everything. Especially when something this big transpires." The unicorn stopped as she put a hoof down into a large puddle of mud. "Great, just great." She pulled against the sucking force of the mire, a slurping noise emanating from it. In a large explosion of mud backwards, Twilight managed to get free. Fluttershy squeaked, shielding herself with a wing.

"Are you okay, Twilight?" the pegasus asked, appearing over her friend, who was now on her back. Twilight groaned, rolling onto her stomach.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Twilight replied, "let's just keep going." She used her magic to perform a cleaning spell on her body, and then she was clean.

The duo continued onward. Eventually, the trail of branches stopped, leaving them with no idea if their target went a different direction or not.

"Well, at least we reached a clearing," Twilight said, glancing around. The trees here were much higher than earlier, towering hundreds of feet above their heads. "But now there's nothing I can see that tells us where Foxy went."

"No paw prints?" Fluttershy asked, scanning the forest floor. Leaves were scattered all around.

"Not that I can see." Twilight narrowed her eyes in scrutiny.

"Do you know a spell that could help us?"

"Hmm . . . a tracking spell? That's brilliant! I just need to think . . ." The unicorn began to tap her head in thought.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, searched around the clearing to see if there was anything.

"'shy, I think I know!" Twilight exclaimed from across the glade. The pegasus flittered back over, eager to hear the plan. "Alright, so I was thinking about how Foxy is made of, well, you know, metal. And I am nearly positive I can perform a spell that would allow us to track anything made out of metal."

"Just metal?"

"Well, technically metal alloys, but they're very nearly the same." Twilight waved a hoof in nonchalance.

"O-okay then, Twilight, if you think you can do it." Fluttershy twitched her tail.

"Alright!" The unicorn lit her horn, a magenta aura surrounding it. Twilight closed her eyes, concentrating. In a matter of moments, the glow grew brighter, and Fluttershy shielded her eyes with a wing.

"I'm getting a trace of something . . ." Twilight mumbled, an eyebrow twitching. Her eyes opened, and the corona on her horn dimmed, fading out. "Something with a large amount of metal in its system went through here just about thirty minutes ago."

A grin split across both their faces.

* * *

><p>Foxy stumbled along. His circuits hummed dully. He was running out of power.<p>

_Come on . . . somewhere I can jus' stop. There's defin'tely not anythin' to power me up in a forest._

Foxy had what could only be minutes left, and if he'd tried earlier, his path was lost to the ponies who were most likely following him.

_Nearly startin' to regret that . . . but if I did somethin', I can't go back._

"Wha—hey!"

The pirate slipped on something and went tumbling down the slope. He'd not been paying attention, and apparently was going to pay for it. Now he was crashing through bushes and thickets, his circuits screaming in pain. He came to a halt at the bottom, now half in and half out of a pool of murky water.

Well, maybe something more than a puddle of gross water. More like a huge expanse that went hundreds of feet in each direction.

"Great . . . jus' great. Now I'm gonna rust out here before I lose power," Foxy grumbled to himself. He hauled himself onto the land and tried to kick the offending mire from his hind legs.

"Speakin' 'a 'out here' where is here?" he asked. The fox let his eyes wander, taking in the scenery. The only way of out there seemed to be right through the swamp, and that was completely out of the question. After uttering a word that would have and _did _get him punished by Freddy Fazbear himself, Foxy fell against a nearby tree. His eyes half lidded, the pirate let out a small whine.

A growl rumbled from the icky mud. Foxy shot to attention, ears pricked.

"Who goes there? Show yourself, ye scallywag!" Foxy roared threateningly, waving his hook. Silence. "Is it you ponies? Trying ta get ol' Foxy back, ay? Well, too bad! I'll 'ave ye know, I've been through worse!"

"Grrroooooaaaaa . . ."

"Nice sound effects. Very nearly almost scared me. Close, but no cigar." Foxy's ears swiveled around on his head.

A silence followed his words once again. The pirate shivered, trying to keep his cool. Suddenly, a roar ripped from the mud. Four heads shot out of the mire, spattering it everywhere. Foxy gasped in astonishment as massive orange necks followed after the triangular heads. Eight black eyes stared down at the fox.

"O-oh, ahoy, maties. Am I in your terr'tory? I must be. I'll jus' be goin'. No need to get worked up about it . . ." Foxy said timidly, putting his hand and hook in front of him in a gesture of surrender. He slowly backed up, only to hit the tree on which he'd been leaning against just minutes prior. The beast inched closer, its body emerging from the mud slowly. Two legs as thick as tree trunks pushed it forward.

"No, ye can stay put. I'll move . . ."

_SCREEEEECH_

"I'm goin'!" Foxy yelped, jumping into action.

_What's with this forest and tryin' ta kill me?!_

"No! No!" Foxy leaped over a swipe from one of the heads, narrowly dodging the thick neck. "I'm goin'! No"—a crash as it bit down on a tree—"No! I'm goin'!"

A primal screech ripped through the cooling night air. Foxy gave a frightened yelp, picking up his pace . . .

_Thud_

* * *

><p>Fluttershy stopped, soft yellow ears pricked as she stood straighter. They twitched on her head, swiveling forward and back.<p>

"Twilight?" the pegasus called quietly a moment later to her friend that was a ways away.

Twilight glanced over at her friend's call. "Yes, Fluttershy?"

"Did you hear that?"

Twilight flicked her tail. "What did you hear?"

"It sounded like some kind of . . . far-off roar." Fluttershy frowned, face contorted in confusion.

"Well, that can't be good." Twilight bit her lip, approaching the pegasus again. "I suggest we check it out."

"Are you betting that Foxy is involved?" Fluttershy asked, cocking her head.

"Most definitely. I swear, that fox is the unluckiest I've ever met," the unicorn griped momentarily.

"We've only known him for around ten hours."

"Yes, I'm aware. We turned him on at approximately twelve noon, and it's nearly ten. We've been pursuing him for practically an hour now. Celestia's sun, why can't anything be stress-free around here?"

"I'm sorry to have it be this much trouble for you, Twilight." Fluttershy looked away. The unicorn glanced quizzically at the reticent pegasus for a moment.

"It's not your fault, 'shy. Don't feel bad."

"O-okay. I just don't want you to be stressed out more than you have to be."

Twilight smirked. "Like that'll ever happen. Besides, when we get back to Ponyville, I'll take a nice, long bubble bath and some invigorating, _soothing_ chamomile tea."

"That's kind of opposing, isn't it?" Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow. "Invigorating? Soothing?"

"Sorry. My brain's tired. I guess it did come out sorta odd sounding. But no matter—let's just find Foxy, interrogate him, and then let me go relax."

"Can't you just use that spell you learned?"

"I'm not really tired like that. Just—worn out. Something only a period of reduction can affluence."

"I understand. Happens to the best of us." Fluttershy offered a smile as they continued on their journey.

* * *

><p>"You know something, 'shy?" Twilight asked after about a half an hour of walking through the dank forest.<p>

"Hmm?" the pegasus replied, turning her head slightly to Twilight's voice.

"Aren't we on the path that leads to Froggy Bottom Bog?"

"Uh . . . perhaps a different route than what I took."

"Then . . . you know what that roar probably was, right?"

". . . Hydra?"

". . . Hydra."

"Fantastic." Fluttershy dropped her head. "I am seriously getting fatigued, Twilight."

"Me too. I don't wanna relax anymore, I wanna sleep!"

"Can you_ please_ use that spell?"

"Right now, that sounds like a pronounced idea." Twilight's horn glimmered with energy, and then a fuzziness settled over both of the equines' heads. The feeling reigned absolute for a tick, before it released its hold and both of the ponies blinked, feeling refreshed.

"Ahh, much better," Twilight sighed in gratification.

"Thanks," Fluttershy said. They continued headlong. "You know what, Foxy must've run this whole way for us to be this far behind."

"You're probably dead-on."

* * *

><p>"Luna . . . you brought a strange creature to Equestria?" Celestia asked, shocked.<p>

Luna nodded. "It was for the greater good, I assure thee."

"For both sides of the universe?"

"I . . . know it will help Foxy. And possibly your student."

"Don't you see that that was a very dangerous thing to do? And you did it without consulting me!"

"I . . ."

Celestia seemed hurt. "You didn't even inform me right afterwards?" The solar alicorn gazed upon her younger sister with glimmering eyes.

"Why are you so upset? Have I done something to upset an old wound?" Luna asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Celestia began to place the room, mane flowing eternally around her. "I thought you had come past lying to me."

Luna started, flaring her wings. "We hath not lied to you! And we are not subject to _your_ lies!"

Celestia sighed, closing her eyes. "I am deeply sorry, little sister. I did not mean to offend you. I am just . . . _overreacting."_ She glanced towards the sun. "I hope to meet the poor fox, soon. Tomorrow I shall write to Twilight."

Luna nodded. Her temper evened out again.

_We suppose our sister has a point. We should not have brought Foxy here without consulting her._

"You know, Luna, I think you're slowly reverting to your old ways."

The lunar sovereign flinched. "What?!"

"Using the royal 'we' are you?" Celestia chuckled.

"Sneaky, sister, but we—I have come farther than that."

"Maybe if you used it everywhere, instead of just in public, you'd get over it."

"Perhaps you are right."

Celestia smirked. "Perhaps I am." She watched the sun on the horizon. "It is nearly time to lower the sun and raise the moon."

"Yes. I shall be waiting."

* * *

><p>Two small, golden orbs slowly lit up the darkness. They became brighter and brighter, and with it, a slight hum that filled the air.<p>

Foxy blinked his glowing eyes rapidly, trying to clear his vision. He shifted in the black.

_Yar . . . where am I? . . . And what happened ta me?_

The pirate glanced about, struggling to find a source of light. He began to stand up, only to fall over as a frantic beeping stopped him.

_Ah . . . that makes more sense. I be runnin' on emergency power. I musta lost power and . . ._

Foxy stopped. He glanced upwards. A few dark shadows told him he had fallen down some sort of hole. He was at least twenty feet in the ground. The pirate perked an ear haphazardly, trying to see if he could hear the beast from earlier. There was silence.

_Okay, I musta fell and lost power, or the other way 'round. Lucky me, least I didn't have ta feel that. But what to do now? I can't move much on account 'a me bein' on emergency power . . ._

Foxy sensed he had about seven percent of his emergency power remaining. He only had ten percent of power to begin with in his short supply. If he was already dying again, what use was it?

_For land's sake . . . why!?_

Foxy sighed, leaning back against the cold stone wall. _It's useless. I'll ne'er get out 'a here._

* * *

><p>Twilight and Fluttershy glanced around. They were at Froggy Bottom Bog. So far, they hadn't seen anything <em>living,<em> though there were footprints. And some of them were quite large.

"Hydra, great. And I assume it was chasing Foxy," Twilight muttered, seeing the humongous prints going off in a different direction around the edge of the swamp.

"We better hurry! He might be hurt," Fluttershy said, opening her wings. She hovered in the air, and the duo set off in the direction. After following them for a while, they stopped. The Hydra's footprints doubled back, heading into the bog.

"Uhh, where did Foxy's tracks go?" Twilight asked, turning in a tight circle.

"Maybe through those bushes?" Fluttershy responds, pointing a hoof at the nearby thicket. They exchanged glances and went forward. There was nothing there. Twilight raised an eyebrow, using her magic to shift bushes around so she could see if there were prints.

"Ooohhh," the unicorn crowed, realization flooding over her.

"What? What is it?" Fluttershy flapped her wings, moving over her friend.

"Look. It's some sort of trap. Maybe one of the ancient timberwolf traps." Twilight moved out of the way so the pegasus could see. A large hole was carved into the ground. It'd been covered with the bush so nopony would see it.

"Is Foxy in there?"

"Seems reasonable. This is where his footprints stop. The hydra probably stopped chasing him when it lost sight of him." The unicorn stooped over the edge.

"Why don't I go down there? I can fly." For emphasis, Fluttershy flapped her wings a bit faster, dropping down in front of Twilight.

"Okay, 'shy. Take this." Twillight lit her horn and a small twinkling of magic dissipated into the pegasus' cyan eyes. Fluttershy blinked a few times, alarmed. "If you think about it, you can turn on a light. It'll shine from your eyes, but won't affect your vision. Just be careful. If Foxy's dangerous, we don't want you to get hurt."

"Of course I'll be fine. If I'm in trouble, I'll yell." Fluttershy started descending, her wing beat slow and steady to lower herself down. The light vanished quite fast, so she blinked and tried to concentrate her thoughts on making a light. Immediately, a light shone onto the stone wall beside her. Fluttershy turned her head, testing it out. It followed her line of sight. "Thanks, Twilight," she whispered. She then directed her gaze downward. Something reflected back the light.

Fluttershy slowed down a bit, trying to get the shape of the object.

"Oh, Foxy!"

The pegasus landed on the ground. The hole was quite narrow, but she managed to find some open space. Foxy was slumped against the wall, his head bent forward so she couldn't see most of his face. His legs were bent and parted, his arms laying on the insides of his thighs.

"Foxy?" the pegasus asked again. She gently prodded his large metal foot. He didn't move. Looking upwards, Fluttershy opened her mouth, "Twilight! He's down here!" She glanced back at the metal pirate. "But I think he's broken!"

"Really?" came Twilight's disembodied voice. Fluttershy saw a shaft of light open up from Twilight casting a spell, and the shadow of the unicorn appeared overhead.

"Would you teleport him up there?"

". . . Can you carry him up from there?"

Fluttershy paused. "Can't you just levitate him up from here?"

"The Everfree Forest's strange magic is messing up my own. Must be some odd magical storm? It came out of nowhere. My magic won't allow me to carry something that heavy right now. Sorry."

"No, no, it's okay. I carried him before, I'm sure I can do it again." Fluttershy waved a hoof and beat her wings. She moved forward and grabbed the metal fox under his arms. Straining, as Foxy was so much heavier than her, the pegasus furiously pumped her feathered appendages. Ever so slowly, they began to rise.

"Fluttershy? How you doing?" Twilight called. The beam of light fell upon her friend again.

"Uh . . ." Fluttershy was trying to respond, but couldn't because of the strain she was under. "I'm—I'm getting there!"

"I think I can cast an anti-gravity spell. Unfortunately, the magical interference is strengthening. The spell won't be full strength. But it'll help."

_Oh, for Celestia's sake, it was so much easier with my wagon! _Fluttershy thought, huffing. Her cheeks tinged red and her wings were already tired. But then, a feeling of lightness came over her, and beating her wings became much easier. Fluttershy's eyes opened from their closed position, and she looked up. She caught a glimpse of a smiling Twilight. The pegasus flapped quicker and she rose much faster. Soon she was at ground level. A magical aura encased Foxy and pulled him away from her. Fluttershy fell onto the grass, the dirt pressing into her belly fur. Her flanks and tail hung limply down the hole.

"Thanks—"_huff—_"Twilight—"_gasp—_"I nearly didn't—"_puff—_"make it," Fluttershy groaned, letting her head fall onto her front hooves.

"You're very welcome. I'm glad I managed to lift him that far. This stupid magical interference is ticking me off," the unicorn grumped. She glared at the air above her, though there was seemingly nothing there.

"Ugh, can we go back to Ponyville now?"

Twilight broke out of her pout. "Of course, 'shy." She flashed a smile at her friend.

"Wait, how are we going to get Foxy out of here?"

Twilight paused. ". . . Horsefeathers."

**Author's Note:**

Raise your hand if you like plot convenience!

What happened to Foxy? Is what Fluttershy said in the last chapter true? When will we find out the answers?

And _why _am I asking _you_ all these questions?

BTW, I totally think that since Foxy is, like, the "baby" of the animatronics, that he gets 'punished' by Freddy every once in a while. Like when he swears . . .


	5. Takes Place in a Matter of Hours YEEAAH

There was a series of crashing noises that reverberated through the Golden Oaks Library just after four A.M. Following that, muffled curses and the stamping of hooves. A door slam came after and then more crashes. An immense amount of swearing next.

"Uh . . . Twilight? Are you okay?" Spike called nervously. He stood at the top of the stairs (by the way, Twilight should really get some hoof-rails), looking down at the lower part of the library.

"SPIKE, GO TO BED!" Twilight's aggravated voice shouted from the lab, so loud it breached even the thick oak door that led downstairs.

"Yes, Twilight!" Spike yelled, shooting off to his basket in a blur of purple and green. He dove into the blankets, only his bright emerald eyes shining in the dark. "Yeesh, I only wanted to help . . ." A violet claw reached out for a small journal that rested on the ground next to his bed. Spike leaned out of his basket a little and took the quill that was stuck in the spine out of its place. He flipped open his book to the next clean page and began writing.

"Reminders: don't stay up past bedtime when Twilight has been chasing a metal fox for eight hours."

Spike flicked his wrist, closing the journal. He placed it back down on the carpet and snuggled into his bed, closing his eyes.

* * *

><p>Twilight Sparkle was very miffed. Very, very, <em>very,<em> miffed. She continued telling herself in her mind she was only in 'an angry mood or sulk.' Otherwise, she'd freak out and explode, because in actual terms she was extremely tired and angry and ready to smack the Tartarus out of anything or anyone that came in her way of getting home. So she stormed into her library, trying so hard to ignore the fox-shaped hole in the wall of her home. But it didn't work as said fox hit the doorframe, causing her to drop him on the ground.

"F*%KING CELESTIA-D*&%#T! EVERYPONY CAN GO F*%K THEMSELVES!" Twilight tossed her head back. "F*%K!"

Fluttershy, who was currently hovering behind the frazzled unicorn, flinched, dropping into a nearby bush. Two large cyan eyes peeked out of the leaves to watch Twilight.

The unicorn took a deep breath, attempting to calm down. Her magic activated again, and the limp pirate was picked up. Twilight trotted inside, maneuvering Foxy so that he didn't hit the doorframe this time around. Once that was done, the unicorn opened the door to her lab and went on in.

_Crash!_

"OH, F*%K MEEEEEE!"

Fluttershy stopped again. She folded in her soft yellow wings, then tentatively peeped around the corner of the door. Twilight was standing in the middle of the steps, swearing her lungs out. The creamy coated pegasus winced every time her friend shouted another rude word, but didn't say anything as Twilight ranted.

"AND YOU KNOW WHAT? F*%K THIS STUPID A** S*%! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I MEAN, FOR F*%K'S SAKE! REALLY!? CAN _NOTHING_ BE EASY!?"

Fluttershy stood silently, observing. Finally, after a few moments, the unicorn stopped. She harrumphed and traversed the steps to her lab. Fluttershy followed after a moment's hesitation. She closed the door after she came in.

"Uh . . . Twilight? Are you okay?" Spike called anxiously from upstairs. His voice was muted through the wood.

Twilight's head snapped around from where she'd started getting on her white lab coat and goggles. Her coat was half on.

"SPIKE, GO TO BED!" the unicorn screeched, her voice rising to tremendous levels. Fluttershy squeaked in fear and fell backwards onto her flanks. Twilight saw this and softened.

"Sorry, 'shy. But do you have any idea how incredibly . . . _miffed_ I am?" Twilight asked, her voice trembling with the effort to keep her volume down and not freak out.

"I understand, Twilight. I recognize it was hard to get Foxy here between us. Especially since that 'magical storm' was blocking your own magic," the pegasus responded, getting back to her hooves.

Twilight sighed. "You can go home if you want. I need to fix Foxy, and by the looks of it, he'll need a ton of repairs. When he fell into that trap, he did a number on himself." Twilight lit her horn, opening a drawer on a cabinet on the other side of the room. A few pieces of machinery were levitated over to her, along with a blowtorch and mask.

"Um, I think I'll do that. Thanks, Twilight, and good luck." Fluttershy began backing away. She saw Twilight flip the mask over her face, and the blowtorch burst into life with a _hiss._ "Bye!"

The pegasus scurried out of her friend's laboratory.

* * *

><p>"WHY ISN'T THIS WORKING?! ACTIVATE, DAMN YOU!"<p>

Twilight's screeching started in the early morning. Spike, asleep, in his basket upstairs, shifted, letting out a small whine. He turned over in his bed, pulling the blankets tighter around him. He buried his spiked-head under the covers and fell back into a deep sleep.

"I SWEAR TO CELESTIA, I WILL BREAK YOUR ARM OFF! NOW WAKE UP, D%*&# T!"

Twilight lobbed her screwdriver across her lab. It lodged several inches deep in the wooden wall. The agitated unicorn stood there, legs spread out wide, chest heaving. Her nostrils flared, smoke coming out of her ears.

"Uh, what am I doing?" Twilight moaned. She let her head drop, frazzled mane bouncing. "I just need to stop." She turned around, heading towards the stairs. "Taking a break."

Twilight trotted up the steps. Her head was pounding. Why wasn't Foxy working? She'd cleaned up all the mud and fixed all the areas where wires stuck out because of when he'd fallen.

"Mmm, it just doesn't make any sense," the violet unicorn mused to herself as she poured herself a cup of coffee. As she sipped it, Twilight thought about anything she might've missed.

"No, I got that . . ." Twilight frowned, taking a sip of the strongly caffeinated beverage that was currently floating in her magical grasp. Another sip. "Mmm, no, no . . ." She stood up against her counter, putting her elbows behind her on the sleek marble. "No! I got that done already." Twilight's eyes widened.

Hot coffee was spit all over the floor in front of the unicorn, which turned out to be a bad mistake, as when she took off towards her lab, her smooth hooves skidded on the liquid and she was flung towards the door at high speeds. Oh well, what was another giant hole in her precious library after all that had transpired in the last less-than-24-hours?

"Aaah!" Twilight's cry as she tumbled down the wooden stairs echoed through the library. Thankfully, Spike didn't wake at this exclamation, but he did shift at the noise.

"Guuh," the purple unicorn moaned, rubbing her head when she finally stopped at the bottom and managed to sit up. Her mane was even worse, it that was all possible. Twilight shook her head, blinking rapidly.

"Well, s*%t," she muttered when she looked up at her lab's door. "Oh well." Twilight scampered forward, her goggles coming over her eyes. Her horn glowing, she got out several wires. From the back of the lab floated a large machine. It was grey with a large switch on the front and two small lights on the top. Twilight set this down next to her and levitated the wires up closer to it. "Hmm." Her horn flashed a brighter magenta and the wires were affixed to the machine, hooked to the controls inside. After that, the unicorn used her magic to hook the wires to a few controls in Foxy's back.

"Alright, totally hope this works," Twilight said, getting her magic ready to pull the large switch, "because if it doesn't, then we'll probably both be fried." With a shrug (then a mad scientist's grin), Twilight flipped the switch. The room lit up with a brilliant light, and if it wasn't for her goggles, she was sure she'd be blind. The light flashed for a few more moments, electricity crackling, and soon was over. Twilight lifted her goggles off her face to rest on her forehead.

"Uhh, Foxy?" the unicorn tentatively asked. She grimaced. "Ooh, that might've been a mistake." She moved forward to check Foxy's controls, when he twitched his hand. Twilight stopped, lifting a fore-hoof off the ground and closer to her chest. "Hellooo?"

Foxy's ears flicked, and Twilight heard the telltale hum that he was starting up. A grin split across her face once again.

"Foxy, can you hear me?" the unicorn asked. She relocated, standing in front of Foxy's face.

"Rrrr . . . Chica?" the pirate mumbled, his voice heavy.

_Chica?_ "Uh, no, Twilight."

"Tell Freddy I don't care . . ."

_He's definitely not listening. That electricity must have knocked some things around. This might be an opportunity to learn something . . ._ "Uh, Foxy, where are you?"

"I dunno."

"O-okay." _Weird. _"Who's Chica?"

"The duck, of course . . . but don't tell her I said that."

"Of course I won't." Twilight raised an eyebrow. _Don't tell her she's a duck? Oh . . . a chicken. She must be a chicken. That would make sense._ "So . . . what does Freddy need?"

"How would I know? 's why ye are here, in't it?"

"Right . . . But who am I? Chica?"

"Bonnie, st'p bein' ridiculous . . ." Foxy mumbled, his metal hand twitching. _Bonnie. Another girl?_

"Okay, then." Twilight frowned. _What else can I even ask?_ "What happened between you and Freddy?"

Foxy sighed. "Ye would know . . . ye were there. Chica and ye . . . yeah, that."

"But will you tell me?" Twilight asked in a more urging tone.

"Mmm . . ." Foxy suddenly yet groggily pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Am I . . . in the lab 'gain?"

Twilight quickly cleared her throat and scurried around the table. "Yep! Fluttershy and I hunted you for like three hours, and then it took five hours to get you out of the Everfree Forest. Also, were you chased by a hydra?"

"Big or'nge creature with four 'eads?" Foxy asked.

"That's the one."

"Then aye." Foxy glanced around. "Where's that lil yellow one?"

"Fluttershy went home last night. I've been up all night working on you. When you fell down that pit, some of your metal was crushed. It's really cool, you know, that we have the same metals here in Equestria as you do in your world. So I fixed the holes and melded them with part magic part blowtorch. I must say, not to toot my own horn, but I did a really great job." Twilight watched as Foxy inspected his body. "I should be a professional."

* * *

><p>Fluttershy felt the sunlight beaming down on her in shafts of light through her window. She rolled, not feeling ready to get up yet. Her mouth creased into a frown as she pulled her pink blanket farther up on her shoulders. Birds started singing. The pegasus whined, yanking the comforter over her head fully. Something soft and furry thumped on her shoulder.<p>

"No! Angel, I'm not ready to get out of bed!" she wailed softly, trying desperately to ignore the feeling of her bunny pounding on her from the other side of the blanket. Angry chattering followed her words, and the blanket was ripped off her body. Fluttershy squealed in fear, shivering from the sudden removal of her comfort. Angel stood at the foot of the bed, blanket held in paw.

"Fine, Angel, I'll get up."

The pegasus rolled out of bed, fed her animals, took a shower, and then tidied up her cottage a bit. She busied herself with these tasks for a little while before remembering she had something to do. She got a few things together, then said goodbye to her bunny.

"I'll be back later, Angel Bunny. Take care of the cottage while I'm gone," Fluttershy said, stooping down to the fluffy white rabbit's level. He looked at her, arms crossed. "Fine, you can have an ice-cream bar later. Just don't eat it too fast; you might get a brain freeze." The bunny grinned and hopped off. Fluttershy smiled gently, then turned around and started off towards Ponyville.

* * *

><p>"Twilight? It's Fluttershy," the pegasus called, knocking gently on the library's door. After a moment's pause, the familiar purple unicorn appeared in the door.<p>

"Oh, hi. I'm glad you're back—Foxy's up," Twilight said, ushering the pegasus inside.

"For how long?"

"Well, it was _about_ eight when I started violently swearing again, so for about an hour. He already asked where you were."

"Probably because he was used to seeing me." Fluttershy took the lead and started towards the basement door.

"No, 'shy, he's up here. He didn't like sitting in the basement all day." Twilight nodded her head towards the smaller room that led to a different section of books. The two mares strolled in, and saw Foxy causally flipping through book. He was sitting in a wooden chair off in the small reading corner. There were a few beanie bags and chairs, along with a tall lamp. It was a cozy little area.

"Oh, hi, Foxy," Twilight said, her eyebrows raised. "What book are you reading?"

"Hmm . . . not sure, lass. Somethin' 'bout ancient civilizations. Was tryin' to find a book 'bout pirates, but I have no idea how to use a lib'ry," Foxy responded absentmindedly, not even looking up as he turned a page.

"Oh, pirates, huh? I can get you one." Twilight turned to head back into the main part of the library. "Fluttershy is right here, by the way." The unicorn exited the room.

"Hello," Fluttershy said, walking forward. Foxy glanced up, one eyebrow cocked.

"Arr! Ahoy, lass! I hope you slept well," the pirate chirruped.

"Well, thanks. I did sleep quite well—like a log." Fluttershy smiled. "But my awakening was not nearly as great."

Foxy cocked his head.

"My pet—Angel Bunny. He got me out of bed by ripping my blanket off me. I'm still kind of tired." She trotted over. "Anyways, I didn't know you could read. I mean, Twilight said you might've been able to, but that was before we actually reactivated you." The pegasus situated herself on a soft cushion, crossing her forelegs over one another.

"Oh, I can barely read. Remember, I was a children's entertainer. Most 'a the words I can understand are what a small child could. That's the extent 'a my skills."

Fluttershy faltered. "O-oh. Well, I'm sure Twilight could teach you to read—if you really wanted to, anyway."

"Don't think it'd be that useful 'a skill, to be honest. Where 'm I supposed ta get a book ta read in my place 'a work? 'sides, Freddy never bothered to teach me, so if he didn't think it was impor'nt, then 's not."

_That's true. He has a point. But . . . knowing Twilight, she'd try to teach him anyway._

"I guess. Expect Twilight to teach you even with that fact. Better not tell that, though I'm sure she'll find out," Fluttershy said.

"I be not worried 'bout her," Foxy replied with nonchalance.

Fluttershy paused, starting to think about the details of last night. "Foxy?" she asked after a few moments.

"Aye?"

"What . . . about last night . . ."

Foxy froze, no longer casually flipping through the pages of the book sitting on his lap. His eyes looked down.

"Are you okay? I don't want to offend you, but I can't forget what happened. I'm sure Twilight's dying to ask some questions as well, but she doesn't know how to start."

"I . . . don't really understan' what happened myself."

"Can you at least _try_ and explain to me?"

Foxy took the book off his lap and got up. He carefully padded over and put it back where he'd found it.

"I didn't hurt the lad, did I?" he asked, still facing the bookshelf.

Fluttershy hadn't actually expected him to answer. She turned her face towards him. "Spike? No, you didn't. He said you had some sort of panic attack and then ran off."

"I'm guessing the hole—"

"Yeah, that was you."

Foxy shook his head, turning around. "So I ran away?"

"Yes. You also damaged my friend Rarity's house, then got into the Everfree Forest."

"Oh, so that's why I'm all scratched. I don't remember why I was runnin', but I do recall bein' chased by a hydra," Foxy said. "S'rry 'bout that."

Fluttershy blinked. "It's alright. Twilight's paying for the you-shaped holes in the walls."

"I see. The 'Everfree', you called it? That's where I was?" he asked. "I've nearly gotten eaten twice in there."

"Twice?"

"Aye, big creature tried to get me when I first arrived here."

"Okay, so you did end up in the Everfree before I found you in my garden," Fluttershy confirmed, nodding her head. "Can you describe what was attacking you?"

"Uhh, big, yellow, wings, huge paws?" Foxy put his hands up near his face, his fingers clawing out at the air, imitating claws. Though it wasn't a very accurate presentation because of his hook.

"Um . . ." Fluttershy racked her brain. "Did it have a scorpion tail?"

"Aye."

"It was a manticore."

Foxy raised an eyebrow at the word, but decided to come away from the shelves. He ditched the chair and plopped down on the floor next to Fluttershy.

"Do you remember anything else about what happened last night?" Fluttershy asked.

"I was runnin' on emergency power for a lil while, which really blanks out recent mem'ries. But I lost power, so I guess that's somethin' to comp'sate," Foxy explained.

"Oh . . ." Fluttershy glanced down. _What if he's lying? Guess I can't do anything even if he was. If he doesn't want to talk about it anyways, who am I to press him?_

". . . Foxy, will you tell me more about your past?" she asked suddenly.

"I—me past?" the pirate stuttered, the look on his face saying exactly what he thought of that idea.

"Yes. I just want to know more about what happened that was so bad. Luna said something haunts your past, so maybe . . ."

"No. Nothin's wrong," he answered quickly with a shake of his head.

"I know that's a lie, and so do you." Fluttershy delivered an admonishing look.

Foxy glanced away, eyes downcast. "I can't ever tell anyone."

"But that's what Luna brought you here for: to help you."

"I asked for a second chance—"

Foxy stopped, catching himself. Fluttershy blinked, tilting her head just slightly.

"A second chance? Well, Equestria is a good second chance for anyone," the pegasus said gently. She placed a hoof on Foxy's hand, which was partially in and out of his lap. "Because the ponies _here_ listen. If Twilight and I didn't care at all, why would she have fixed you? Why would we have chased you for three hours and dragged you back through the Everfree Forest for _five_ hours?"

Foxy remained silent.

"Come on; we can help you."

"Ye don't understand."

"Not yet." Fluttershy looked into his golden eyes. "Please."

"I—"

"I found some books about pirates!" Twilight declared as she strolled into the room.

_Celestia's sake, Twilight._ "Oh, hello, Twilight," Fluttershy said, quickly retracting her hoof and once again placing it over her other foreleg. The unicorn held several books in her magical grasp.

"What were you two talking about in here?" she asked.

"Um, nothing," Fluttershy answered.

"Oh, really? Well, I got some books, anyways. I've picked out some of my _personal_ recommendations." Twilight looked quite pleased with herself. She dropped the three books into Foxy's arms. He clumsily managed to catch one, but the others fell onto the floor.

"Oh, uh, thanks, lass," Foxy stammered. He glanced at the one in his hand. He raised an eyebrow at the title.

"Is something wrong, Foxy?" Twilight asked, seeing his confusion.

"O-oh, nothin'."

"Are you sure? You look confused."

"Jus' . . . intrigued at the title?"

Fluttershy tried to hide her smirk. She hid behind her hair.

"It's just _Pirate Actualities: The Superior Edition_, I don't get what's so "intriguing" about it," Twilight said, shrugging with one shoulder as she made motions with the same hoof.

Foxy nodded. "Mmhmm, yeah, sure . . ."

Fluttershy could barely contain herself. She put a hoof over her mouth, biting her lip. Twilight seemed to notice this and raised an eyebrow.

"Is something funny, Fluttershy?" the unicorn asked.

Said pegasus couldn't hold back anymore and started giggling.

"I don't get it," Twilight said.

"I-it's nothing," Fluttershy chittered, trying to stop. Foxy, meanwhile, was giving the creamy coated mare a fierce glare. He shook his head at her.

"No, no, tell me," Twilight repeated, a bit irritated and confused.

"I'm remembering a funny joke I heard earlier," she lied.

"What was the joke?" Twilight seemed interested now.

"I—um, okay." Fluttershy quickly racked her mind for something. "Hey, uh, Twilight, I feel so bad for the vegetables . . . they . . . they . . ."

"They what?"

Fluttershy's voice level dropped. "They got _beet."_

Twilight blinked. "Heheh, I get it! _Beet!"_ Twilight giggled a little.

"Yeah, see, that's what I was thinking of."

Twilight nodded. Foxy looked a bit relieved, but his yellow eyes were still narrowed in irritation.

"You know, I haven't eaten since last night, so you wanna get breakfast?" Twilight asked abruptly.

Fluttershy jumped from the unexpected question. "Sure. I am hungry. I did only feed my animals this morning."

"Then it's decided." Twilight turned to Foxy. "I don't think you should come with us yet. Are you okay staying here?" Foxy nodded. "Spike's asleep upstairs . . . he probably will be for a while." She twitched an ear. "Be careful."

* * *

><p><em>My dearest and most faithful student,<em>

_How goes it with Foxy? Luna has told me all about what's happened. I understand what she did and there is no worry of any intervention from me. I only wish to meet him. Luna has told me that she refused to tell you herself of what occurred in Foxy's world that has allowed him to come here. Though she has told me, I advise you to get to know him so he may tell you, as like my sister, I shall not tell you either. If four is okay with you, could I come and meet Foxy? If that time does not work, just tell me a time that shall._

_Your teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia_

Twilight set the letter down, a frown on her face. Fluttershy tilted her head at her friend.

"Is something wrong, Twilight?" the pegasus asked.

"Princess Celestia wants to meet Foxy. I don't know if he's ready, though. We've only known him for about two days. He's not exactly the most . . ." Twilight searched for the right word, "_stable_ individual out there. What happens if he freaks out in front of the princess and she gets rid of him? We'll never be able to help him. And if what he said to you earlier is true, then he'll be sent away without a second chance."

"The princess is a fair ruler. She wouldn't do something like that without explanation."

"But we don't _have_ an explanation."

"Maybe so, but if he needed to stay, wouldn't Foxy help his cause?"

Twilight glanced behind her at the side room. "I'm not so sure about that."

Fluttershy frowned. "But we can't lie to the princess. It's not like we're doing anything."

Twilight tapped her chin in thought. "Well, since it's only ten thirty, I think we should let him meet the girls first. He might be more welcoming of the princess if he's already met others."

The pegasus nodded. "I agree."

"Okay, so it's a date. I'll have Spike send letters to each of them."

**Author's Note:**

Wrote this so quick. 1,000 words last night at three A.M, 1,000 words around noon, and then periodically throughout the day whilst listening to a variation of pony songs, Swiggity Swooty I'm Coming for That Booty, Eminem, and 2000s hits. Yeah baby.


	6. Meetings

"There, Twilight, now they all got a letter," Spike finished with pride. Said unicorn smiled at her assistant and patted him on the head.

"Thanks. Now we just wait. We should have plenty of time from when Celestia gets here to, uh, _clean up_ any evidence of disaster that could happen before-hoof. We've already patched the holes in the library walls—and, um, door—so we should be all good," Twilight said.

"I just hope everything turns out okay," Fluttershy worried.

"I'm sure it will."

"I'm not gonna run 'way 'gain if that's what ye 'r gettin' at," Foxy added. He was sitting on the floor.

"You don't exactly know that!" the pegasus retorted sharply, startling the pirate with her biting voice. He looked down and mumbled 'sorry' under his breath.

"Look, I'm sorry, but what happened to you could've been the end. We need to be more cautious," Fluttershy reiterated.

"Fluttershy is right. If that occurs again, then Princess Celestia might see you as dangerous," Twilight stated, not mentioning that the princess already knew what he'd done in his past. _Wish we knew,_ the unicorn thought.

"Aye, ye be right," Foxy begrudgingly agreed. Twilight patted his head, much to his annoyance.

"Good," Twilight said with a nod, "now let's just get everything ready for when the others get here." The group (AKA the three natives to Equestria) busied themselves with tidying up the library as much as they could. "Foxy, could you go into the side room until I come and get you? We should introduce you to all the girls at once."

"Aye aye," he obeyed, standing up and padding into the other room.

It wasn't long before there was a knock at the door. Spike ran to get it, but the orange farmer barged in, slamming Spike into the wall. Applejack greeted them all with a loud "Howdy!" and strolled forward.

"Hi, AJ," Twilight responded, a smile on her face.

"Now, what's this thing you needed me here fer?" the mare asked.

"You'll see soon enough. We need to wait for everypony else to get here first."

"Oh?" Applejack raised an eyebrow and took a seat on the floor, next to Fluttershy. The pair started talking idly as Twilight began pacing the room. It was only a couple minutes later when Rarity's voice sounded from outside.

"Helloo~" the unicorn cooed. They heard a few delicate knocks on the door. "Je suis ici! Darling~"

Twilight's magic opened the door, allowing the fashionista to enter. Rarity trotted in, mane bouncing gently.

"Hello girls," Rarity greeted kindly. "What's the occasion?"

"We've gotta wait, Ah guess," Applejack said.

"Oh. Well, that's no problem! I had just finished my order before I got your letter, Twilight. It's always nice to see friends." She laid down next to Fluttershy, then crossed her hooves in front of her. Twilight continued pacing . . .

"Here! Ooh, is it a party? I bet it's a party! Man, I love parties! Can it please be a party?" Pinkie Pie's ecstatic voice cut through the air, and a moment later her bright body burst from the bookshelves. Books sprayed down onto the floor from her entrance.

"Pinkie Pie! It's not a party!" Twilight exclaimed, her horn lighting to pick up and reorganize the fallen books.

"Aw, that's boring!" the party pony whined. "But what are we doing!?"

"Ya need to chill down and wait. Twilight here ain't gonna start 'til we're all 'ere. And Rainbow Dash ain't here yet, so just take a seat," Applejack announced. She patted the ground beside her with a hoof.

"Okie dokie lokie!" With a skip and a bounce, Pinkie landed alongside Applejack, rolling on her back.

* * *

><p>"Uh! Where<em> is<em> she?" Twilight growled, annoyed. "Rainbow's the fastest one of us! How is she not here?"

"Prolly nappin' somewhere in _mah_ orchard," AJ grumbled, rolling her eyes.

A crash and a bang later, a blue blur sped through the library.

"Wah!"

Rainbow Dash spiraled into the very bookshelf Pinkie had sprang form earlier, knocking all the books from the shelves. She was buried in the knowledge and soon her head popped from the middle of the pile.

"Whoops," the brash pegasus giggled, "sorry. I was napping—"

"Knew it!"

"—and didn't wake up until a passing cloud blocked my rays. I found the letter you sent on my cloud, so I zoomed over as soon as I read it."

Twilight sighed. "It's alright. I just wished you would've gotten here earlier. We've got some big things to go through."

"Big things?"

"Yes, you'll see." Twilight felt nervousness crashing over her in waves. _Oh no, what if this goes wrong? What could happen?_

"Fluttershy, if you'd go get him?" the unicorn asked, struggling to keep the tremble out of her voice.

The creamy coated pegasus nodded, "Of course." She got to her hooves and prudently walked into the other room.

_"Him?"_ Rainbow Dash asked. She cocked an eyebrow. "Twilight . . . did you get a colt-friend?"

Twilight blinked, leaning her head back. "What? No! This is much more serious than some "colt-friend.""

The cyan pegasus looked unconvinced. She snorted, rolling her eyes. Just then, Fluttershy quickly trotted back into the room. She scurried up to Twilight.

"Uh, Twilight, Foxy's starting to have some . . . _second_ thoughts," the pegasus whispered into her friend's purple ear.

Twilight tried not to grimace. "What!? We don't have time for this!" She caught the look from the other girls, flashing a pained smile. She scooted her and Fluttershy into a side closet. "We need to hurry this along!"

Fluttershy kept a rather calm demeanor. "We won't have time for him to freeze up either. I'll see what I can do, but it's mostly up to him."

Twilight whined, bouncing on her hoof tips a little bit. "Ooh, please tell him it's really important to do this! We'd have to introduce him to the girls anyways, so it's best if as soon as possible—especially since_Princess Celestia_—the supreme ruler of the _nation_—is coming to meet him later _today!"_

The pegasus nodded. "Yes, so I'll go talk to Foxy, and then we'll go from there."

Twilight sighed, managing a nod. "Alright, I trust you. Thanks, 'shy." She smiled at the yellow mare, which was returned with the same gentleness.

The pair exited the closet, ignored the stares and blank looks they got from the remaining mares, and Fluttershy went into the side area. Twilight waited outside, her pelt itching with tension.

* * *

><p>Fluttershy saw the pirate sitting on the floor, head in his arms. She approached him cautiously.<p>

"Foxy," the pegasus said slowly.

"Rrr, I don't think I can do it. I can't meet 'em all," he murmured with distress.

"Why not?"

"I—"

Fluttershy didn't let him finish. "Is it because maybe this whole situation reminds you of something?"

Foxy stopped. He lifted his head up, studying the normally timid pegasus. "N-no."

"Oh really? Is that a stutter I just heard?"

"M-maybe." Foxy glanced away, ears tilting backwards.

Fluttershy sat down on the floor next to the fox. "What's really the matter?"

Foxy sighed. "Meetin' this many at one time, it reminds me 'a . . . when I was first introduced to the other animatronics."

Fluttershy smiled gently. "It's okay. Sometimes I can't do things because of something that happened—even if it was a long, long time ago."

"How do ye know so much? I mean, 'bout this kinda . . . situation."

"I've been in your position more than a few times. So I understand. Even if you're a talking, sentient pirate robot fox from another world, I can relate to what you're going through." That got a small smile out of him, and Fluttershy allowed herself to giggle slightly. "So, what do you say?" She pushed herself to her hooves. "They're not that scary—except Rainbow can be a bit intimidating at times. She's just protective."

Foxy's thoughts drifted back to Freddy in the beginning . . . "I understand that."

* * *

><p>"Are they going to come out anytime soon?" Rainbow Dash complained, rolling onto her back.<p>

"I'm sure they will," Twilight said, though she bit her lip as she turned away again.

Suddenly, the doorknob turned. Fluttershy exited the room, a small smile on her face. Twilight felt one working over her muzzle as they large shape behind her become visible. Foxy ducked underneath the doorframe (for he was much too large to fit) and tried to keep calm.

Rarity was the first to react. She jumped back, all the while screaming. "Ew, ew, ew, ew, get that thing away from me! It ruined my boutique!"

Foxy frowned, looking to Fluttershy. She gave a quick nod, then took to the air.

"Now, girls—Rarity—don't panic, please. If you'd just let Twilight explain," the pegasus stated. Twilight stepped forward, a calm, collected look on her face.

"Girls, this is Foxy. He was brought here by Princess Luna for a . . . special reason. Yes, he's a robot, well, technically animatronic, but he's friendly," the unicorn started. _Heh, at least most of the time. _"I want you all to be nice to him."

Rainbow Dash, who'd been hovering above the group, swooped down to Foxy. "Hi! I'm Rainbow Dash!"

"Ah'm Applejack."

"Pinkie Pie!"

" . . . Rarity. Uggh!" the unicorn shivered after she said her name. She grimaced.

"Rares, be nice," AJ chided, a smirk on her muzzle.

Rarity cleared her throat, puffing up her mane as a light blush spread across her cheeks. "Mm-mm, right. Excuse me."

Twilight smirked slightly, but quickly glanced over at Foxy. His muzzle was turned down, and he was staring at the floor.

"H-hey! Foxy! Why don't you say something?" Twilight quickly interjected, throwing herself forward to change the topic.

The pirate glanced quizzically at her. "What?"

"He talks! He talks! My life is complete!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, putting her hoof up to her forehead and falling about as she wobbled around on her back legs. The pink pony finally collapsed in a blur.

"Yes, Pinkie, of course he does," Twilight said, an agitated frown on her face.

"What else can he do, huh huh huh?!" Pinkie leaped forward and gripped Twilight's face, squeezing her cheeks. "Can he dance or sing or sail a ship 'cuz he's a pirate!?"

With a swing of her hoof, the party pony was knocked off. "Will you calm down?"

"It's Pinkie Pie, telling her to calm down is like telling a fish not to swim," Rainbow hissed into Twilight's ear.

"Yes, I know, but this is a serious matter." She waved the pegasus away and then raised her voice. "Hey! Listen up!" The group of ponies quickly got into a small huddle, eyes wide and ears perked.

"This is no joking matter. Foxy is our guest, so I want you all to respect him," she continued in a serious manner.

"Okay, but what's this all about anyways? I don't get it—it's sweet, but I don't get it," Dash put in, flying up closer to her friend.

Twilight looked shocked. "What's not to get?"

"Like this whole situation! What's the point?"

Twilight sputtered. "Foxy is a creature from another world! How do you not comprehend that?!"

"But why is here? And why do _we"_—Rainbow circled her hoof around the four of them who'd just came there—"care at all?"

* * *

><p>Foxy watched with an increasingly aggravated glare. He was sick of them pretending like he wasn't there in the room with them! A growl rumbled in his throat.<p>

_For goodness sakes!_

"Why are ye all arguin'?!" the pirate finally exclaimed, throwing his arms out. "Aren't ye 'friends' or somethin'? 's like a board meetin' all o'er 'gain!"

The ponies stared, mouths open.

"I'll be havin' ye all walk the plank 'fore this is over." Foxy shook his head in disappointment.

"Wow . . . that . . . that was somethin'," Applejack stammered.

"You can say that again," Rarity said.

Pinkie Pie, without even breaking eye contact with Foxy, repeated, "Wow, that was something."

"She wasn't being literal." That was Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie giggled, raising an eyebrow. "Then what was the point in saying it?"

"Ugh."

"Girls, please," Twilight said gently. "Foxy's right. Though I didn't expect it from him." She shot him a smile. The pirate shrunk back. His circuits heated up.

There were a few moments of silence. Suddenly, one pony's happy voice rang out:

"Who wants to play a game~"

* * *

><p>"Aw, ponyfeathers!"<p>

Rainbow's curse was rather loud in the room.

"What's the matter, Dashie, you upset Foxy's whipping your butt?" Pinkie Pie asked smugly, easing up to her friend.

"Uh, maybe." Dash pushed the annoying partier out of her face.

"Yeah, who knew Foxy was good at poker," Twilight said casually. She had her cards levitating in front of her face. She shuffled some things around, trying not to show her disappointment at her hand.

"How did you get so good?" Rarity questioned. She's gotten over her disdain (mostly) and was rearranging her cards idly.

Foxy smirked. "Lass, the gang and I played poker all the time. 'course, I never won—Chica was inadvertently good at the game—she learned from the best." He sighed. "Freddy could whoop us all for a time, but when Chica began playin', she'd beat 'im by a longshot. Always said he shouldn't 'a taught her." The pirate chuckled, a smile on his muzzle.

"Sounds that Chica was quite interesting—a lady, good at poker. Unladylike, to me," the fashionista continued, sniffing.

"Really, comin' from you, Rares?" Applejack scoffed jokingly.

"I'm—I'm not decent at this game!"

"That's a nice poker face ya got there."

"Oh, haha. Very funny."

"Say, Foxy, you ever play strip poker with your buddies?" Pinkie Pie asked out of nowhere. She glanced up from her cards.

"I don't even . . . know what that is," he said rather unconvincingly. The ponies snickered.

"How do you even play that? You don't wear clothes," Rainbow Dash said, pointing out the obvious.

"'s nt really 'strip' poker fer us as much as 'take ourselves apart' poker."

Applejack snickered. "Mind elaboratin'?"

"Uh, we can take off parts of our bodies. Like so," Foxy said, reaching his hand up to his ear. He unscrewed it and set on on the floor. The ponies stared at it until Pinkie whipped her hoof out and grabbed it. She stuck it in the side her thick mane and grinned.

"Ya look half fox already," AJ joked, rolling her emerald green eyes.

"I do?" the party pony asked, gasping. She leaped to her hooves and pranced around. "Hey, hey, hey! Foxy! Can you give me your other ear?"

The pirate raised an eyebrow. "What're ye planning ta do with it?"

"You'll see! Please?"

"Fine." He took it off and Pinkie immediately took it and put it on the other side of her mane. The two bright red ears contrasted oddly with her cotton candy pink coat, but she didn't care.

"I'm a fox! And"—Pinkie quickly sped off and when she came back, she had an eyepatch and a hat with a skull-and-crossbones on it—"I'm a pirate fox! Arrrr!"

The mane six were all laughing, and Foxy rolled his eyes. It always felt odd without a body part, so he decided to put an end to this.

"Aye, hand it over," Foxy ordered, sticking out his hand.

"But Foxy!" Pinkie whined, "I'm _hooked_ on them!"

Another burst of laughter from the group.

"I mean, for _fox_ sake, I'm trying to keep this PG, not _pi-rated arrrr,_ but I think I should be able to wear them for a bit longer!"

The other mares were splayed over the floor laughing.

"Can you _sea_ what I'm saying? To think I'd just _wave_ and give you these ears, are you _shore_ you're not smoking sea_-weed?"_

Foxy stood up, towering over the little pony by nearly five feet. Pinkie saw the shadow falling over her during her laughter and looked up.

_"Whale,_ I better stop these puns, you're not looking very _jolly, roger."_

Foxy blinked.

"Don't need to be such a _beach_ about it, though."

"Lass."

"Right." Pinkie Pie shook them out of her mane and bounced away.

* * *

><p>"That was more fun than I thought it'd be," Twilight commented idly as the rest of the mares were gone. Fluttershy nodded in agreement.<p>

"And Foxy, I'm very proud that you stepped in," Fluttershy said, flashing a gentle smile at the pirate.

"Arr, lass, 'twas nothing. Your mates are very interestin' once one gets ta know them," Foxy stated.

"I'm glad you think so."

Twilight interjected, "But it won't be as easy in a half an hour."

"Hopefully you're not completely right," Fluttershy worried.

"I guess we'll see." Twilight looked towards Foxy, a fretful frown on her muzzle

* * *

><p>''Mike, what in the world?!"<p>

The young security guard cringed away from his boss' voice. The older man in front of him scowled, his eyebrows in a v.

"W-what do you mean?" Mike asked shakily.

His boss pounded his fist harshly on the table, causing Mike to give a small yelp of surprise and tilt backwards in his chair. He was sent rolling backwards.

"You idiot! I'm talking about the fact that one of our animatronics went missing! On your shift!"

Mike shook his head to clear it, clawing his way back to his feet. "I-I don't know a-anything about that!"

"How do you _not_ know what happened?! It's your job to make sure the animatronics are protected during the night."

"If a thief did break in here, why would they take the only broken one?" Mike asked.

"Does it matter? All I care about is that we're losing money!" his boss yelled.

"Yeah, 'cuz obviously you don't care that I nearly get killed every night . . ."

"What was that?"

"N-nothing, sir!"

His boss stomped around his desk, grabbing Mike by his shirt. The security guard grimaced, leaning as far away from the angry face of his employer as he could.

"You're going to find the missing one! I don't want to the police involved—that'll just cost more money. We're barely running this place as it is. If you don't find, you'll be kicked out of here before you can say 'Freddy Fazbear'!"

Mike swallowed nervously, nodding. "H-how long do I have?"

"You've got two weeks. If it's not back by then, YOU'RE FIRED!"

"Yes, sir!"

With that, his boss let go of him rather roughly, sending the smaller man skidding across the office. Mike recovered and quickly exited the office, shutting the door behind him. The security guard stumbled down the long hallway to his office to begin the fourth night of his work week. It was only about ten, but Mike didn't want to go home to Doll.

Mike fell against the wall, sinking to the floor. He crossed his arms on his knees and buried his face in his arms.

"What am I gonna do?"

* * *

><p>"There's the princess' carriage! Quick, Fluttershy, with me!" Twilight yelled, backpedaling away from the window. The pegasus flew forward, then followed her friend outside into the sun. There, Princess Celestia's guards flew her carriage down from the blue sky. They touched down, and the regal white alicorn stood up to walk off. Twilight trotted forward with Fluttershy flying next to her.<p>

"Princess Celestia," Twilight said formally, a nervous tone to her voice. Her mentor smiled down at her.

"No need to be so afraid, my dear student. I'm sure everything will be fine," Celestia soothed. She reached down and nuzzled the little unicorn.

"You're probably right. Heh."

"Now where is Foxy?"

Twilight cleared her throat. "He's inside. If you'd come with me, princess." She started towards the library. Fluttershy had landed and was walking behind Twilight. The trio entered the library.

"Princess Celestia, this is Foxy," Fluttershy introduced. The pirate was waiting in the back of the room, and as soon as he saw the princess standing there, he quickly bowed.

"It is nice to finally meet you, Foxy," Celestia said warmly.

"Same 'ere, your majesty," the fox declared.

"No need to be so far away. You can come closer." She smiled at him. Foxy glanced around nervously, his ears twitching. "It's okay. I don't bite—not on purpose, anyways." The princess gave a small laugh, while Foxy recoiled. Luckily, she didn't notice.

"Come on, Foxy," Twilight said, nodding her head towards the regal alicorn. With reluctance, Foxy closed the distance between them. He now stood about three feet before Celestia.

"That's much better," the princess stated, smiling. "My, my, quite tall aren't we?" Celestia could look him in the eye.

Foxy glanced down at his feet, his circuits heating up. "Er . . ." He trailed off.

"You're also very nervous. I assure you, no matter what these ladies might have said, I won't banish you to the moon." She rolled her eyes playfully. When there was no response to her statement, she tilted her head. "If I'm making you feel uncomfortable, please let me know. I'm a fair ruler."

Foxy shook his head. "Jus' . . . I'm jus' like this sometimes. . ."

"It's fine to be nervous. Luna told me about your"—Celestia coughed softly—"_condition._ I may seem intimidating, but I'm really not." The alicorn paused. "How are you getting on?" She took a few steps to the side and simply began browsing the numerous amount of books on the shelves.

"Fine, so far," Foxy stammered. He kept an eye on the princess as she went off to the side, but then looked at the ground.

"Good, good." Celestia studied Foxy from behind as she paced.

_Hmm . . . Twilight could surely repair him . . . what is she waiting for?_ Celestia raised an eyebrow at this. _And it doesn't seem as if they've done any speaking. I presume he's not at ease conversing about the . . . topic of which befell that evening._ The princess frowned. _I might _have _to intervene . . . yes, I shall speak with Luna tonight when I get back. Then we'll decide._

"Ooh, look at the time!" Celestia cooed, eyeing the clock. "I am very sorry about this, but I must go. It was _very_ nice meeting you, Foxy, and I have no doubt I'll see you again very, _very_ soon."

**Author's Note:**

I had no ideas. I forgot them all. Bummer.

But what has Celestia got brewing? (BTW Celestia is still best princess lolololol)

FIND OUT NEXT TIME


	7. More Mystery if That's at all Possible

Chica frowned. She watched as Mike made his way down the hall. His shoulders were slumped over and he seemed to walk with no purpose. The chicken looked towards the office before making up her mind and turning away, going back to the stage.

"Freddy!" Chica called. The bear on stage glanced towards her. "We need to talk."

* * *

><p>"Well . . . that was fast," Fluttershy said quietly. The princess' chariot was vanishing in the distance. Canterlot loomed on the side of the mountain; Princess Celestia's destination.<p>

"Yeah, definitely. I wonder why?" Twilight questioned, looking away. She walked inside with Fluttershy following right after. "Did we do something wrong?"

"If anyone did an'thin' wrong, 'twas me," Foxy muttered as he heard Twilight's question. The unicorn lit her horn and shut the door behind Fluttershy.

"I don't think any of us did anything wrong," Fluttershy said. "Princess Celestia seemed fine until she just decided to leave."

"Fluttershy's right. Something went through her head as she was looking around. There's nothing in here to provoke that sort of reaction, so perhaps she just left her sink on?" Twilight guessed pathetically.

"I don't foresee that bein' a logical explanation," Foxy deadpanned.

"Well, what else could've happened?" Twilight slammed a fore-hoof into the side of her head as she scrunched her nose.

"Don't berate yourself, Twilight," Fluttershy ordered. "We should just forget about what happened. She didn't send Foxy away, did she?"

"No . . ."

"Then let's not worry too much, alright? I can make some tea to calm us down." Fluttershy set off towards the kitchen.

"Thanks, 'shy. Mind getting some sandwiches while you're in there?" A pink tail flicked in silent acknowledgement.

* * *

><p>Spike smelt the food before he saw it. The little dragon peeked around the corner, seeing who was in. Fluttershy was standing on her hind legs as she fiddled with a teapot on the stove.<p>

"Hiyah, Fluttershy. What ya making?" Spike asked, entering the kitchen. The pegasus blinked and looked over.

"Oh, hello, Spike," Fluttershy greeted. "I'm just making some tea and sandwiches for Twilight and I. Would you like some?"

"You don't have to."

"Nonsense. I'll make you a few as well." Fluttershy smiled as she got out an extra cup.

"Thanks." Spike came closer. "So, how was the meeting with Celestia?"

A frown made its way over her face. She dropped down onto all four hooves. "I'm not sure how well it went, Spike."

"Why?" he asked, tilting his head.

"She was only here for about ten minutes."

Spike blinked. "Really? That's all?"

"Yes, I'm afraid. The princess came in and then just as fast, she unexpectedly left."

Spike bit his lip. "She didn't give any explanation at all?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No." She sighed. "The princess sounded odd, though."

"Odd?"

"Yeah, although I can't point out exactly why." The pegasus moved over to the other counter. She began to put the sandwiches together. "You don't worry about it now. Why don't you go on and hang with Twilight?"

Spike nodded, then ran off.

* * *

><p>Freddy raised a large eyebrow at the chicken. "What about?"<p>

Chica scurried up to the stage. "We need to help Mike."

"WHAT!?"

Chica clambered on stage. "You heard me. Mike is gonna get fired if he doesn't find Foxy."

"Why? Why not just fire him now?"

"I'm saying that if we get a _human's_ help, then maybe we can find Foxy!"

"Who cares about Foxy? He's broken anyways." He shrugged. A yellow blur swung towards him.

Freddy recoiled, holding his cheek. He looked with surprise at the little chicken in front of him.

"Did—did you just slap me?" Freddy asked, startled. He rubbed where she'd hit him with the hand that didn't have his microphone.

"Yes! You need to stop with the act, mister! You care about Foxy just as much as the rest of us," Chica reprimanded. "I don't care what you say about him. We're going to find him."

The bear grumbled something, bringing his hand down. "How are we even going to get Mike's help? He won't come near us."

"I'll go first. You and Bonnie can stay on stage until I bring any news. Maybe I can get Mike to believe me and open the door."

"I doubt it."

"Thinking negatively won't get us anywhere."

"Who says we'll get anywhere?" Freddy grumbled. Chica gasped.

"Do you want to get slapped again?" she demanded, holding back her arm. Freddy put his hands up, starting toward backstage.

"No, no, anything but that." He smirked.

"Don't get smart with me."

"Whose name is in the restaurant title?"

"Not yours if you keep that up."

* * *

><p>"These are delicious, 'shy," Twilight said gratefully, taking another small bite of her apricot-and-apple sandwich. There was a delightful blend of cream cheese and yogurt spread on both pieces of the bread.<p>

"Thanks. My mom used to make them for me all the time," Fluttershy said, a smile on her face. She used her wing to take a sip of her sweet tea.

"Hats off to your mom," Spike commented with his mouth full. He scarfed down the rest of his.

"Manners, Spike," Twilight chastised. She lifted her teacup to her muzzle and took a drink.

"Sorry. Hey, where's Foxy?"

"In the other room. Reading again." The unicorn grinned. "Glad he can."

Fluttershy inhaled some of her tea. A few drops of the brown liquid sprayed from her cup, spattering on the floor. Twilight gave her an odd look, but the pegasus waved a hoof as tears filled her eyes as she silently coughed, trying to get the tea out of her throat.

"Anyways"—choking and splutters—"it's nearly six now. I've got no other plans for the day, so Spike, have you wanted to do anything all week?" Twilight asked. She lifted an eyebrow at Fluttershy—still attempting to clear her throat—and then looked at her assistant.

The dragon thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Not that I can think of."

Twilight stuck out her tongue briefly. "I don't know what to do."

Fluttershy collapsed from her chair in a blur of pink and yellow. She coughed from down on the floor.

"Somepony"—hacking—"please help"—cough—"me."

* * *

><p>Princess Celestia stood at her sister's chamber. The large blue doors were emblazoned with her royal crest. The solar princess knocked on Luna's door.<p>

"Come in," came the commanding voice. Celestia used her golden magic to push the doors open and strode in. Luna turned from her desk.

"Greetings, Luna," Celestia said.

"I see you have concerns about Foxy," Luna replied simply, turning towards the window now instead.

"I am afraid that we will not be able to help him." Celestia padded up to stand next to her sister.

"I have sensed the same as well, but I am quite sure that your student shall be able to handle it." Luna looked up towards the sky. "Twilight Sparkle can do many extraordinary things."

Celestia frowned. "I know. But Twilight has never been through a tragedy like that. She won't be able to help if she doesn't know what to do."

"So? One does not need to have the same happen to them to help another."

"I am aware. Though in this situation, it may be what we need. And we can't do anything."

Luna narrowed her eyes, glancing at her sister. "Then what do you suggest?"

Celestia met Luna's eyes.

* * *

><p>". . . We're going to what again?" Bonnie asked.<p>

Freddy sighed. "We're going to help Mike find Foxy."

The purple bunny blinked. Was Freddy going crazy? _Agreeing_ with Chica's plan?!

"I . . . don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. You might get slapped."

Before Bonnie could ask what he meant, the bear was already exiting the room. Bonnie hurried after him. Out on stage, Chica was pacing.

"You're in, right?" she asked, pointing at Bonnie. "Of course you are. What am I talking about, you don't have a choice."

"Thanks," the bunny deadpanned.

"Right! Here's the plan."

Bonnie put his hand to his mouth and whispered to Freddy, "When did you become the second-in-command?"

"Shut up, Bonnie," Freddy grumbled.

Chica continued talking. "Since I'm a lady, I'll go first. I'll try and get Mike to listen to me. If he doesn't, we'll all split up and make him waste all the power."

Freddy raised his hand.

Chica raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Freddy?"

"Can I stuff him in a suit afterwards?"

Chica sighed, rubbing the top of her beak. "No."

"Can I at least scare him?"

"I—no! We need to have him on our side for at least until we find Foxy."

_"Fine."_ Freddy crossed his arms. "Long as we get to attempt to put him in his suit after this is all done."

"Yes, we can. Now, no arguing." Chica continued on. "We'll tell Mike about what happened, and see if he can supply us with any 'human' intel."

"I doubt the idiot knows anything."

"Freddy!"

The bear looked surprised. "What?" he asked. He shrugged. "I'm right and you know it."

Chica looked towards Bonnie. "Kick him."

The bunny grinned and raised his foot, but Freddy glared at him. Bonnie laughed weakly and put his foot back down.

Freddy smirked, glancing forward again. "That's what I—"

Kick

"Bonnie, I'm going to rip your left arm off again."

"Please don't." Bonnie took a few steps back.

Chica face-palmed. "For goodness sake. Okay, okay, it's nearly eleven. Just go with the plan, okay guys?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Freddy rolled his eyes.

Bonnie eyed Freddy. "Please don't kill me."

* * *

><p>As the clocked ticked down to midnight, Foxy felt a change come over him.<p>

_Tis almost midnight. Should I warn them?_ Foxy glanced towards the chatting ponies and Spike. _Of course, I'd think they'd lock me in the basement anyways, so there's really no worry._

Fluttershy let out a large yawn. "Hey, Twilight, I think I'm going to leave. Angel Bunny probably ate all the ice-cream bars. If I'm right, he'll have a stomach ache. Plus, I'm tired."

Twilight smiled. "Of course. Tonight, I think I'll get some actual sleep as well. Spike, why don't you head on up to bed? Remember to brush your teeth."

Spike yawned. "Yeah, sure, Twi . . ." Without any complaint, he headed up the stairs.

"Goodnight. See you all tomorrow," Fluttershy called softly as she drifted towards the door.

"Night, lass," Foxy said.

When Fluttershy shut the door behind her, Twilight looked at Foxy. "What are you going to do? Do you have some sort of sleep mode?"

Foxy furrowed his eyebrows. _'course I have a sleep mode . . . but my servers are goin' to act up if I don't wander aimlessly for a while._

Twilight saw the look on his face. "Foxy? Something wrong?"

"'s really nothin', lass. I jus' used to rest durin' the day and wander at night. 'Twas the only time I was allowed out of the Cove," he explained.

"Oh, uh, okay. Do you want to try and rest, or . . ?"

"My servers kinda act weird after a while. I've been off at night fer a few days, so I think I'd better turn on my 'free roamin' mode'."

Twilight nodded. "What do you do during this time?"

_Kill people._ "Mostly wander aimlessly. Shouldn't be too much of a problem, but ye might wanna lock me somewhere."_ Else ye might be next on my list._ "I don't communicate much except Freddy said I sing occasionally."

"Okay. Would you rather stay in the smaller section of the library or . . . well, if you wander, you might accidently hit something if you were to stay in the lab. Are you okay with staying in there?" Twilight pointed towards the closed off library section.

_Long as ye lock me in as much as ye can. _"Aye, that's fine."

"Alright, then it's settled." Twilight started towards the room. "How long will you be like that?"

"From midnight ta six in the morn'."

The unicorn allowed Foxy to go in. She stood at the door. "Should I lock you in now? There's about fifteen minutes until midnight."

_Sooner the better._ "Aye,'s fine. Have yourself a good night, lass." Foxy watched the door close as Twilight's form vanished from sight. The sound of a lock clicking was heard.

* * *

><p><em>Midnight. Great,<em> Mike thought in misery. He sighed as the 99% popped up in the corner of the tablet he held. The cameras flicked on. _Well, night four. Hopefully tonight won't be the night I die. And at least I won't have to worry about Foxy._

He switched to the stage. Chica was gone. _Already!? _Mike quickly clicked the night on outside the door. The chicken was illuminated in the doorway. Letting out a less than manly shriek, he closed the door.

"Mike! Mike, open the door!"

The security guard fell off his chair in surprise. _DID SHE JUST TALK TO ME?!_

"Please, I know what you're thinking. But I'm not here to hurt you. We need to talk," the distinctly feminine voice said again.

Taking a deep breath, Mike yelled back, "Go away! You're just the product of my stressed out mind!"

"Oh for goodness sake, I'm not a hallucination! It's just Chica!"

Mike put his hands over his ears. "Blah, blah, blah, I can't hear you!"

There was the sound of feet, and Mike looked at the door. He got up from the floor and checked the light. She was gone.

_Thank the gods she's left._

Mike sat back in his chair, tablet in hand. He switched to the stage and saw that Freddy and Bonnie were gone as well. The security guard stared at the screen for a moment.

"F*%K!"

"I wouldn't use language like that around the children," a voice said. Mike spun around and saw Bonnie poking his head in the room. He lunged forward and slammed the 'door close' button and the bunny yelped in surprise at he yanked his head back just in time to prevent it from getting crushed.

"Go away!" Mike yelled.

"Mike, just listen," Chica pleaded from the other doorway. Mike screamed, dropping the tablet. It bounced off the floor. She stared at it. "Pretty sure that'll come out of your measly paycheck."

"Please don't kill me!" Mike whined, backing against the opposite door.

"I'm not here to kill you! Haven't I said that already?"

"Why should I believe you?"

Chica rolled her eyes. "We want Foxy back just as much as you do. I overheard the boss talking—well, more like screaming—to you. And we want to help." She scooted a little closer.

"S-stay back." Mike grabbed his chair and brandished it as a weapon. Chica blinked.

"Really?" she deadpanned.

"This is got to be some sort of hallucination. Maybe someone slipped something into my food or, or—"

"Mike."

Said security guard stopped his hysterical ramblings and glanced up at the chicken.

"Are you going to calm down?" Chica asked evenly.

Mike inhaled. "Yes."

"Good, because we've got some work to do." Chica walked forward and leaned to open the door Mike was leaning on. He nearly fell backwards but managed to get to his feet again.

"Bonnie, come in," she said, stepping away. Mike swallowed shakily and braced himself.

"Finally," the bunny muttered, walking in.

Chica scanned the dark hallway. "Where is he?"

"I don't know."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Wait, who are you—"

"Boo," hissed a deep voice right next to Mike's ear. The security guard let out a shrill squeal and jumped forward, landing in Bonnie's metal arms.

"Freddy!" Chica complained loudly, hands on her hips.

The bear waved a paw. "Sorry, I had to. Couldn't resist."

Chica rolled her eyes and looked towards Mike. His face was pale and he clung to Bonnie tightly.

Freddy blinked. "Now that is a sight I never thought I would see." He walked towards the desk in the room. "Calm down, Mikey. We're not gonna hurt you yet."

Bonnie shifted uncomfortably, but didn't drop the security guard. "I don't even know what's going on . . ."

Chica raised an eyebrow and glanced at Freddy, who was rummaging around in the drawers of the desk. His microphone sat on the top of the desk.

"Freddy, what're you doing?" she asked.

The bear pulled out a white package that looked very small in his large hand. He flipped open the top and pulled something out. With it, a long holder and lighter from the drawer. Freddy put the cigarette in the holder and brought the lighter up to the end, lighting it with expert fingers.

"Need something to get past what we're doing," Freddy replied causally.

"Are you . . . smoking?" Mike asked, grimacing.

"Yep," the bear said, taking a long drag.

"Why the holder?" Mike pointed at it. He no longer appeared as spooked.

"I hate getting my metal dirty."

"Then why are you smoking? I didn't even know you could smoke. You can't even _breathe."_

"Please be quiet, your stupid questions irritate me." Freddy blew out a long trail of smoke.

"Freddy, don't be rude," Chica scolded lightly.

"I'm not being rude—I'm being truthful. Would you rather me lie?" he asked smoothly. Chica watched him blow out a puff of smoke through his nose. She wiggled her tail feathers.

". . . Anyways, Mike, what did _you_ see the night Foxy went missing?" she questioned.

Mike kept one arm slung around Bonnie's neck, tapping his chin with a finger from the other hand. "I remember a glowing, I guess."

Chica's eyes lit up. "Yeah, I saw that too! He said it just started for some reason. Did you see him, Freddy?"

The bear twitched an ear. "Yeah, he came up to me. Wanted me to tell him what was going on." Freddy snuffed his cigarette out on the edge. There was a deep scar there, so he'd obviously been doing it for a while. "I didn't know, so I sent him back to Pirate Cove. And then he vanished, I assume."

"That doesn't make any sense," Bonnie commented. He switched Mike to one arm like one would hold a baby and padded closer to the group. Mike fidgeted, trying to get loose, but Bonnie wasn't paying attention.

"I know," Chica murmured. "If we could just figure out what the light was, we'd be able to find Foxy!"

"Mike, you know what that light was?" Freddy asked, raising an eyebrow at the guard.

Mike shook his head. "Never seen it before."

Chica sighed. "Then we're already stuck."

* * *

><p>Luna shook her head. "That would be very intrusive."<p>

Celestia blinked. "Are you forgetting how we even found out?"

"My dream walking is for a greater purpose." Luna padded towards her sister. "What you are suggesting is just an invasion of privacy."

Celestia frowned. "Yes, I understand. But you know why it is a better idea than waiting."

The lunar sovereign sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "I'm aware."

"So are you going to do it or not?" Celestia asked.

"I'll do it."

* * *

><p>Foxy felt the change. His servers switched to 'free roaming mode' at exactly midnight. He'd heard Twilight getting a few things ready for the night and then silence. The room was dark.<p>

_They be not watchin'. They be not in their suits._

The feeling of anger and betrayal rushed over him in a torrent.

Time to play the waiting game.

* * *

><p>Twilight snuggled into bed, her dreams merry. It was now that she realized using a spell was much different than actually sleeping.<p>

It had to have been about three when Twilight was awoken by a loud noise. She nearly jumped out her pelt. The unicorn shivered, sitting up in bed.

"Hello?" she called softly. "Spike? Is that you?" Twilight clambered out of bed, throwing her starry comforter to one side. Her horn lit with a simple light spell and illuminated the room. Spike was sound asleep in his basket, the faint rise and fall of his chest showing that he was living. She started down the wooden stairs instead, deciding to check on Foxy.

The small room in which Twilight had locked him up in was silent for the most part. A few scuffling sounds emanated dully through the door. She pressed her ear up against the wood.

"Da da dum dum dum diddily doom doom doom doom diddily doom da da dum diddily dum dum . . ."

Twilight blinked in surprise, lifting her head away. Her ears flicked as she tilted her head.

"Hmm, well, he did say he might sing," Twilight commented to herself. She listened carefully again.

_Slam!_

Twilight reared back, falling onto her flanks. The door rattled on its hinges, reverberating throughout the library.

"What the-?"

Repetitive pounding came next. Then silence.

Twilight scooted backwards—still splayed out on the ground—and stood up slowly. Her horn grew brighter as she began to approach the door once again.

_Boom!_

Twilight jumped, her breathing quickening. _It's just Foxy under the control of his servers, or whatever. He doesn't know what he's doing._ Twilight took a deep breath. _This is why he told me to lock him up._ She took a tentative step towards the door.

A long scream—if it could be called that—ripped through the air, accompanied by loud, violent pounding. Twilight screamed as the hinges on the door broke. Her horn flickered and she backed away hurriedly. Foxy shrieked again. She tore her gaze away from the breaking door and sprinted upstairs. Her magic picked Spike up. He woke up, groggy, as Twilight set him—wrapped up in his blanket—into her saddlebags that she set on her back. She then glanced at the stairs.

The deafening crash of the door breaking into tons of little pieces caused Twilight to scream again. The outline of large ears became apparent as Foxy moved through the light from her horn. He was running towards the stairs.

"Foxy!" Twilight shrieked, horn now blazing. Spike was now awake and struggling in his hold. "Don't make me do this!"

Foxy appeared at the top of the steps. His jaw fell open and another high-pitched scream tore from his throat. Along with it, a jumbling of what could be described as possible words, but Twilight couldn't make them out. Her horn was like a burning star as she unleashed a beam of magic. It struck Foxy in a swift move and he collapsed. Twilight leaped out the window behind her.

* * *

><p>Fluttershy poured herself another cup of tea. Twilight and Spike showed up on her doorstep at around three thirty in the morning. Twilight had described to her what had happened.<p>

_It just doesn't make sense . . . are we just the most unlucky ponies in Equestria? Three days of hectic events. I hope Foxy's alright as well. Twilight is a very strong unicorn and if she hit him as hard as she thought she did, then Foxy might be broken forever._

**Author's Note:**

I added the last part because my childhood was a lot like that. (minus the robot foxes) My dad is an abusive (wife-beating) alcoholic with depression who likes to be in control. He hit my mom so many times, and that's why they got divorced. And recently, he abused his fiance and you can't even recognize her.

Anyways, it reminded me of all the times we (my brother and sisters) had to fight to get away from either our dad or his fiance when they were drunk. We would run off, sometimes to a hotel, or occasionally a friend's place, and sometimes they worked it out and we could't get away.

I'm sorry if I've given you too much information, I just thought I'd let you know why I added that last part.

Also, if you say Foxy couldn't have smashed that door, think about it. He can't destroy a metal door, but he sure could break though walls. And definitely a wooden door.


	8. Only the Beginning

Freddy sighed deeply. "Dear lord, someone get me out of here." He dropped his head into his hands.

"I think this is pretty great," Bonnie commented. "I actually prefer this."

"Yeah, as long as you guys don't kill me, I'm in," Mike agreed.

"What's the point in this?" Freddy groaned. "I thought we were supposed to be looking for Foxy."

Chica looked his way. "We are. But unless we have come sort of clue as to what that glowing was, we're stuck. May as well get to know Mike. Besides, I'm killing right now." She switched a few cards around, then laid them on the table. "Ha-ha, Mike, now off with that shirt." Chica waved his uniform's hat in front of her—she'd already gotten that.

"Ugh, why did I agree to strip poker with robots?" the security guard grumbled. He unbuttoned the front of his shirt and slipped it off, then tossed it at the chicken. Chica caught it and put it beside her, laughing.

"Shoulda thought twice, then!"

"I didn't think it'd be much of a challenge . . . How did you get so good?" Mike furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at his cards.

"Freddy taught me, and the rest is just natural talent."

"You're a metal chicken. Nothing's natural about you."

* * *

><p>When Twilight woke up again, she didn't know where she was. The events of the night slowly came back to her as she saw she was in Fluttershy's guest room bed. Spike was clinging to her midsection, gently snoring. The unicorn nuzzled his head and carefully unattached him. She wrapped him up more in his blanket and left the room, shutting the behind her.<p>

Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen as Twilight entered the main area. She glanced both ways before hearing the door open.

"Oh, Twilight!" Rarity exclaimed, rushing forward. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie followed after, worried looks on all their faces. "We're so glad you're safe!"

Twilight accepted Rarity's hug. "Yeah, of course I'm fine." She blinked. "How did you guys find out about that?"

"Dear, the whole area around the library is talking about it! Nopony knew what had happened, but apparently there was a huge ruckus. What happened?"

Twilight frowned. "It was Foxy."

Rainbow Dash flew forward. "What do you mean?" She then gasped. "If he did anything, I swear I'll kill him—"

Twilight cut the pegasus off. "He didn't hurt me. It's . . . hard to explain. But I don't think he's a danger anymore. Well, not right now, at least. What time is it?"

Pinkie Pie pulled an entire watch from her mane and glanced at it. "Nearly two in the afternoon."

"Huh, I slept for a while." Twilight paused. "Any of you guys know where Fluttershy went?"

All of them shook their heads.

* * *

><p>Fluttershy pushed the library door open. As soon as she did, the remnants of the side door shattered on the floor met her sight. The pegasus grimaced, taking flight. She flew cautiously up the stairs. The bedroom wasn't that messy. Twilight's bed was mussed up and that was really all. She folded her wings in.<p>

Fluttershy realized something was missing. Foxy was nowhere to be seen. A faint feeling of terror washed over her, and she ruffled her wings. The pegasus looked around. She walked over to the bathroom, checking it just in case. From there, she searched the library.

Fluttershy was scouring the kitchen when she heard a noise behind her. She jumped, turning around. There was nothing behind her, but the small noises continued. It was if something was moving.

"Foxy, are you here?" the pegasus called. She padded cautiously forward, her head low. "Hello?" The small sound of metal creaking reached her ears. Fluttershy followed it to the side room. She'd already checked there, but maybe he had moved?

"Foxy?"

The animatronic stopped, his circuits resisting. Fluttershy tensed her muscles, preparing to run if she had to.

Foxy turned towards her. Fluttershy gasped, shrinking back. The whole right side of his torso was gone, and his arm was barely attached. Charred areas covered a good portion of the rest of his body.

"Foxy! Are you . . . you?" she asked.

His jaw opened but nothing came out except for a few static screeches.

"Oh. I'm guessing since you're not trying to chase me, you're not on roaming mode?"

Looking down, he shook his head. Fluttershy frowned, her ears flat against her head.

"Is it safe to come near you then?" Fluttershy asked again.

Foxy backed up a few steps, shaking his head.

"You're afraid, and that's okay." She took a couple steps forward. "I'm sure everything's going to be fine. You just need to come with me." Foxy shook his head vigorously. "You need to go into the lab. I'll get Twilight; she can fix you."

Foxy shook his head again. Fluttershy sighed.

"Then I'm terribly sorry about this," the pegasus said. Foxy gave her an odd look. Fluttershy brought her hoof back and launched something at him. The projectile soared through the air and clung to his exposed exoskeleton. Immediately, a jolt of electricity shot through him. Foxy gave a broken cry as his circuits locked up and shut down.

* * *

><p>Twilight had her goggles and lab coat on. She stood over Foxy's still and broken body with a screwdriver in her magical grip. She moved it with skilled precision as it tightened all the screws in his jaw.<p>

_What is this, the third time I've fixed him? Well, this time is my doing. Besides, it's all good practice._

Fluttershy had arrived back at her house and told what had transpired.

_"Electrical charge," the pegasus said._

_"A what?" Rainbow Dash asked. The girls were gathered around._

_"An electrical charge—Taser, pretty much. I have a few hidden around my house. In case anypony breaks in."_

_Dash blinked. "That's pretty . . . bad*#s, actually."_

_"You live on the edge 'a the Everfree Forest. Who's gonna break in?" Applejack asked, signaling to said forest outside._

_Fluttershy shrunk beneath the gazes of her friends. "Well, you know, I—it's just a precaution, okay?"_

_"That's perfectly alright, dear. I keep an old sewing machine under my bed just in case," Rarity said. Everyone glanced at her. "What? It's broken and doesn't even have a backstitch button. No point in wasting it. Worked well to kill that spider last week."_

_Rainbow blinked. "Okkaaay, then. Anyways, so you hit him with the electrical charge—then what?"_

_"I just locked him in the basement. He's lying on your work table, Twilight," Fluttershy continued._

_The purple unicorn nodded. "Thanks, 'shy. Though you definitely didn't have to do that."_

_"I had to make sure he wasn't a danger. He'd already moved that far, who's to say he couldn't get out of the library? Your door wasn't locked."_

_Twilight blushed. "Heh heh."_

_"Sounds to me like Foxy was a danger to himself more than anything," Rarity said._

_"Agreed!" Pinkie Pie declared. "Though I hope you can fix him, Twilight! He's awesome!"_

_"Take pictures of the damage! I want to see it later!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Sounds brutal." She rubbed her hooves together._

_"Dash." Twilight looked at the pegasus._

_"What? It does. At least the way I imagine it."_

_"I don't even want to know."_

"Alright, jaw and voice done. Now let's just buff out these charred areas . . ." Twilight said to herself. Her magic levitated a rag up to her head level. She worked steadily.

* * *

><p>"So how's it going?"<p>

Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash's voice. The rest of the mane six were crowded by the stairs, watching her with worry clear in their expressions.

Twilight glanced at Foxy briefly. "Uh, good so far. I think. I don't have enough metal to fix him. I'll have to get some."

Applejack trotted forwards, hooking an arm around Twilight's shoulders. "What do ya say—we all go out to lunch, then you can get back to work and _we'll_ go get the materials ya need."

Twilight smiled. "That sounds wonderful."

* * *

><p>"When shall we go forward with our plan?" Luna asked. Celestia pondered the question for a moment.<p>

"I think I shall ask Twilight when a good time is. I won't tell her of our intentions, but it'll be up to her for when we accomplish our goal," the solar goddess replied.

"How will we do it? Will we just . . ." Luna trailed off, thinking. "Are just going to just cast the spell and answer their questions when we have already started?"

"I think we may have to. If we explain it to them, one or more of them may refuse. And we cannot make them if they say no right to our faces."

"They are the Elements of Harmony—they will understand either way, and I'm sure that they'd agree." Luna paused. "I think we should tell them not the deed we are doing, but the context of it."

Celestia smiled at her sister. "That is a good idea."

* * *

><p>The day passed and Twilight continued working diligently. She gave her friends the money they'd need and sent them down to a nearby hardware store. Spike had come with them for lunch and then retired to his basket to read a comic book. Now, Twilight was occupied with restoring Foxy's ability to use his right arm when Spike entered the lab.<p>

"Twilight, letter from the princess!" he called. She didn't even glance his way as he announced it.

"Thanks, Spike. Read it for me, would you?" Twilight replied after a moment. She was immersed in her work.

"Alright. Ahem," the dragon began, "my dearest and most faithful student, how are you? I hope you have not been too stressed out with Foxy and other things down there. I'm terribly sorry for leaving early the other day. I had some things to think about, but would like for Luna and I to come down there together. I send this letter because I don't like to surprise you when I know you're stressed.

"As I was saying, when do you think an appropriate time would be? Luna and I can come at any time.

"Your teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia."

Spike rolled the scroll back up. Twilight perked up, her eyes widening.

"Oh no! Both the princesses are going to come to Ponyville! This is terrible!" the unicorn exclaimed, gripping her head with her hooves.

"But Luna brought Foxy here, right? So she's comfortable with him," Spike said, shrugging.

"You don't get it, Spike! I won't be done with Foxy! I know I get to arrange the date and time again, but if I say 'oh, yeah, come in a week from now,' they're going to know something's up!"

"Just work faster?"

"Yes, that's what I'll have to do. I'll have to shift into:

_"MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!"_

Spike blinked at her reaction, his face blank. Twilight looked at him. "Which means, you need to let me work, and I need to hope that the girls will get here soon with the metal I need!" The unicorn shot across the room, magic collecting the various tools she'd need later. "Might as well get ready." She glanced up at Spike again, seeing him standing there. "Well, what're you waiting for? Shoo!" She used her magic to open the door and sent a small wave of it to push him out.

Spike winced as the door shut behind him. He sighed, letting his shoulders droop. Suddenly, a yell from the basement made him jump.

"WHERE'S MY 1 HP 7" X 12" HYDRAULIC FEED METAL CUTTING BAND SAW?!"

* * *

><p><em>Dear Princess Celestia,<em>

_Thank you for the understanding. Though I am busy today, tomorrow I'm free. How does two in the afternoon sound?_

_Your student, Twilight Sparkle_

* * *

><p><em>My dearest and most faithful student, <em>

_That is a good time. However, I am afraid I made a mistake in my last letter. Am I right to assume the other Elements of Harmony are aware of the situation? If they are not, I request you tell them._

_Has Foxy given you any information about the event? Please keep me updated._

_About your friends, they will need to be there at our meeting as well. Luna and I must share some information with you all._

_Unfortunately, Spike cannot be present. The information we will be sharing with you isn't appropriate for his age._

_Your teacher and mentor, Princess Celestia_

* * *

><p>"Pleeeease, Twilight!" the little dragon whined. He clasped his hands together and fell onto his knees. Twilight frowned, rubbing a hoof over his head scales.<p>

"I'm sorry, but Princess Celestia told me that you can't be there. I can't go against her wishes. She obviously has her reasons. Luna must've agreed also, so that would be pretty rude of me, don't you think?" the purple unicorn asked, now smiling gently at her assistant.

"But I missed them coming last time too!"

"I'm sorry about that, but I didn't want you to get hurt." Twilight pulled him off his knees. "I'll ask the princesses later if I can tell you, alright. As long as it is not too bad and they agree. If they don't let me, I don't want any complaining."

Spike nodded. "Okay . . ."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you won't miss out on anything too big."

* * *

><p>"We've all gotta be there?" Applejack asked.<p>

Twilight nodded. "Yeah. Apparently the princesses have got some big news."

"Sweet!" Rainbow Dash cheered. "Meeting with the princesses!"

"And it's big!" Fluttershy said in shock. "What else did Princess Celestia tell you?"

"I think it's going to be about Foxy. She mentioned him in the letter," Twilight said, her magical aura appearing on her horn. The scroll was lifted into the air. Rarity snatched it with her own magic and began reading.

"Hmm . . . yes, it would appear that way," the fashionista murmured.

Rainbow ripped it away from Rarity. She skimmed it. "Rarity's right. Plus, with all that's going down at this moment, what else could be more important?"

Rarity tugged it from Dash's hooves, a disapproving look on her features. "Yes, I agree with Rainbow. While 'going down' isn't the most _refined _way of saying it, it definitely describes the past few days."

Pinkie Pie leaped forward. "Ooh, we never get to see both the princesses in Ponyville at the same time! I can't wait!"

"Ah hope it's nothin' too bad," Applejack said.

"Have you told Princess Celestia about the . . . _events_ that unfolded her last night?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight shifted uncomfortably under her friends' gazes. "Well, no . . ."

Rarity's eyes widened. She grabbed Twilight's shoulders with her hooves. "Dear, you must tell them! That must be the _very first_ thing!"

"But what if—"

"No buts!"

"Okay! I get it!"

Rarity released her hold and stepped back. She absentmindedly ran a hoof through her mane, attempting to ignore the stares from the other mares.

"Um, as unexpected as that was, it's true," Applejack agreed.

Twilight nodded. "I know. But how are they going to react to it? That's what I'm worried about."

* * *

><p>Mike walked out to his car. The night's events were still fresh in his mind, and he didn't know if they were real. Because really, he played poker with the animatronics.<p>

That sounded like a dream for sure.

_Either I'm going crazy, or I hallucinated the whole thing. Which is unlikely._

As Mike backed out of the parking lot, his thoughts drifted to how in world they'd find that annoying pirate fox.

_I can't believe I'm actually doing this. Who cares if I get fired? I'm risking my life every night. Why would I miss that? I should just quit. Of course, I can find another job . . ._

* * *

><p>"Tada!" Twilight cried, yanking the cloth off Foxy with her magic. The ponies gasped.<p>

"Holy moly, Twilight! He looks good as new!" Pinkie Pie declared. She shrunk down and then appeared on the other side of the room, where Foxy was sitting up on the table. The pink pony wrapped an arm around his broad shoulders. "Looking foxy, Foxy!"

"That was so bad," Rainbow Dash deadpanned.

"Eh, I'll take it." Pinkie popped up next to Applejack.

"Guess there wasn't much ya couldn't fix with your skills, huh?" the farmer asked, ignoring her pink friend's sudden appearance.

Twilight shook her head. "I had enough supplies, and I got done with his right side at around three in the morning, so I decided hey, why not? Besides, I'm sure he didn't like the gaping holes in his arms and legs . . . and body . . ."

"I'm certainly glad everything worked out for us. Now we just have to meet the princesses in an hour," Rarity said.

Twilight frowned. "Yeah, _just."_

Rainbow bit her lip. "So . . . we gonna activate him, or not?"

"We have to. But I advise we all stay back." Twilight backed up, and her friends did the same. A magenta aura flashed briefly, and then there was silence.

They waited a few minutes. Pinkie leaned over to hiss in Twilight's ear. "Did it work?"

"I hope so." Twilight frowned.

Foxy's eyes started glowing. The telltale humming began a couple moments afterwards.

"Be prepared . . ." Twilight warned softly.

* * *

><p>Foxy jolted back into reality. The pain from being electrocuted was gone. He tried to move his head, and it creaked slightly to the left. He heard whispering from the area in front of him, but he couldn't see yet.<p>

_Sounds like Twilight and her friends . . . oh no._

_Ooh no._

Foxy blinked rapidly to clear his eyesight. The ponies appeared in his line of sight.

"Foxy? Foxy?" he heard his name. Who said it, he didn't know.

It took a while for him to get his jaw moving, but he managed to respond.

"Arr," he growled simply. There was a chatter following that. On Foxy's head, his ears swiveled in the ponys' direction, trying to distinguish what was being said.

"Can you move any more than that? Are you too stiff?"

Foxy twitched his hand. It was difficult.

"Here . . ."

Foxy felt the panel on his back being opened. There was a sense of relieving pressure and he felt more fluid.

"How about now?"

"Aye, that be better," Foxy responded.

He could clearly see now. Twilight took a tentative step forward. "You're not in . . . killer mode, are you?"

Foxy shook his head. "I don't even know what to say that could possibly make up fer that."

"How about you start with WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU TURNED INTO A DERANGED KILLING MACHINE?!"

Foxy flinched, taken back. His eyepatch flipped down over his eye. The other ponies seemed to have the same reactions as they took a step back as well.

"Do you have any idea how angry I am?! You could've hurt Spike! Or me! If I hadn't _just_ fixed you and the princess weren't going to be here in _less than an hour,_ I'd rip your leg off!"

Foxy opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off before he could say anything.

"You could've told me! But no, you didn't! Now the princesses are most likely going to be p*ssed!"

"Uh, Twilight, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"No, I'm not! This has been a disaster! All I want to do is hit someone!"

"You can hit the wall," Rainbow suggested.

"No, I don't mean some_thing,_ I mean some_one!"_

Rarity sighed. "I can just tell how the rest of today is going to go."

Twilight glared at the pirate still sitting in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think—"

"Yeah, obviously you didn't! Come on, even the CMC have more sense than that!"

Pinkie's mouth formed an o. "Oooohh, shots fired! Might wanna rub some ice on that _burn!"_

"But then again, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are older than you, so I guess it makes some sense," Twilight continued on. Her deep blue tail lashed behind her.

Foxy cringed. This was not going well._ I didn't think it would, anyways . . ._

"Look, lass, if you'd calm down—"

"No! I won't! You—"

Rainbow flew from upstairs, her eyes wide. Nopony'd seen here go in the midst of the furious reprimanding Twilight was giving Foxy, but she'd quickly checked.

"The princesses are here!"

Twilight's head shot around. "WHAT?!

**Author's Note:**

So much Foxy abuse I can't think straight.

Alright, I'm taking a survey. I've gotten a lot of questions concerning if the other animatronics are going to come to Equestria. I didn't plan that at first, but I think I might add them. So I want you to tell me:

Do you, or do you not, want Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica to come to Equestria? And I guess Mike if you want . . .


	9. Memories

Twilight completely stopped her rant and very nearly flew up the steps, the rest of her friends behind her. Foxy pushed himself off the table, glad he had more control over his limbs again.

"Princess Celestia!" the violet mare almost stuttered, her voice high. She ducked into a sloppy bow. The other Elements of Harmony did as well, and when Foxy got upstairs a few seconds later, he did the same.

"Do not forget I am here as well, Twilight Sparkle," came Luna's voice. She strode from behind her older sister.

"O-of course not!"

"Very well. That's enough. We have business to attend to. If you would all give your complete and utmost attention," the lunar sovereign continued. The mares and Foxy stood straighter.

Celestia saw Foxy and smiled. "I am glad you are repaired. I see my student has done an excellent job in the small amount of time it has been since we've seen each other." Twilight beamed at the praise, her cheeks flushing.

Luna allowed a small smile onto her muzzle. "I am also glad. Do not make me feel like I do not appreciate you."

"I know you care, Princess. And I really don't deserve so much praise . . ." Twilight waved a hoof, trying to clear her blush.

Celestia's smile mellowed out. "I'm afraid we do have some serious business to attend to. Is Spike around?"

"No, I sent him to play with the Cutie Mark Crusaders earlier."

"Good. Now, girls, we all know about Foxy, yes?" The elements nodded. Said pirate shrank back.

Luna took over. "Only we know about what has happened. But today, that's going to change."

The girls all looked between the princesses and Foxy, looks of confusion on their faces.

"Foxy—are you willing to share with us now?" Luna's teal eyes burned into his own golden ones. Foxy shook his head.

"No, lass, I won't be," he growled softly.

Luna frowned. "Well then. Twilight, may I ask of you a chair?" Upon seeing the unicorn's perplexed expression, she added, "I've been awake all day. Normally I sleep during the day, so a rest would be nice. Celestia, would you care for a seat?"

"No thank you. I'm fine," the solar goddess responded, knowing their plan was coming into play.

Twilight nodded, albeit somewhat hesitantly. She trotted off and returned a few moments later. She set the rather large chair next to the princess.

"Here you go," Twilight said.

"Thank you very much," Luna said. Her horn then ignited, and Foxy was picked up. The girls split as he was floated over their heads rather quickly. Luna set him in the chair and there was a blinding flash of blue light. When it cleared, the fox was tied up with ropes of her magic. There was one across his midsection, one around his forehead, and two for his legs and arms.

Foxy growled and struggled to wrench himself from his bindings. "Let me out!" But the magic was impervious. It stretched the smallest amount, then pulled, affixing Foxy firmly to the chair.

"Princess! What are you doing?!" Twilight exclaimed, as the mares behind her all gasped.

Luna turned to face them. "I know this may seem shocking—and it is—but it's for a purpose."

Twilight looked with horror at Celestia. The white alicorn nodded.

"Yes, my dear student, I am in on it. In fact, I'm the one who proposed it," Celestia confirmed, putting a golden clad hoof to her chest before setting it back on the ground.

"But—why?"

"Luna and I sensed in Foxy that he would _never_ tell anyone what happened. We cannot help him if he won't talk about it."

Fluttershy butted to the front of the group. "That's not true! I've been talking to Foxy about what happened!"

Celestia knew the creamy coated pegasus meant well, but her statement wasn't 100% true. "But do you actually know what occurred?"

Fluttershy's confidence faltered. "Well, no—"

"And that's why Luna and I are here."

Sensing the time to engage their plan was now, Luna stepped forward. "I'd like you all to get comfortable."

Twilight stuttered. "W-why?"

Luna looked at her with a held back expression. "Please, we request of you just to do what we ask." She let her eyes roam over all the ponies. "Sit down and make sure you are comfortable." The elements exchanged fearful and perplexed glances. Twilight sat down first, followed by Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and finally Rainbow Dash as she folded in her wings and came out of the air.

"Thank you. Now, this may be uncomfortable, but just bear with it," Celestia advised. She exchanged glances with Luna and her horn lit up with a golden aura. Luna's was glowing deep blue. The room grew dark and still.

"Foxy, try and keep calm. This will hurt the most for you," Luna added before the spell started to take effect. As if on cue, the pirate groaned in discomfort. "Sorry about this, but it's for your own good."

As it grew increasingly darker, Celestia and Luna's manes stopped waving ever so slowly, as if they were being wind down. Foxy gave a high-pitched whine of distress, and he thrashed in his seat. Finally, the room was a pitch black.

* * *

><p>Twilight blinked, shifting. Where was she? The unicorn stood up straighter, gently rubbing her head. Suddenly, a figure faded into view next to her. Rarity's white form became opaque. She turned to Twilight.<p>

"Twilight? Where are we?" she asked, looking around. It was dark and smelled slightly of pizza.

"I have no idea," Twilight replied. She felt something next to her. Fluttershy appeared, her eyes closed. She opened her eyes as she became fully visible.

"Whoa, what was that!?" Rainbow Dash's voice exclaimed as she appeared next to Rarity.

"I have the same question," Fluttershy said.

"Yippee! This is great!" Pinkie Pie cheered, her voice sounding very far away and empty. Applejack followed next, then finally Luna and Celestia.

"Princesses, where are we?" Twilight asked.

Luna blinked. "We are inside Foxy's memory banks."

"WHAT?!" the mares all exclaimed.

"Yes. Now, you all came in the order of unicorns to earth ponies, correct?"

"Uh, yeah," Rainbow answered. "But what has that go to do with anything?"

"Just checking. If you hadn't that'd be a sign for concern. Unicorns come first because they have stronger magic, then pegasi, then earth ponies," Celestia replied. "Luna and I arrived last because we were making sure the spell went right. Plus, I put a time lock on the room. Nopony can get in or out."

"Cool!" Pinkie Pie yipped.

Luna looked around. "Hmm, I thought I performed the spell right for—"

"Gah!"

Foxy abruptly appeared, unlike the others who had faded into view. He collapsed to his hands and knees.

Luna smiled in victory. "I was correct."

The pirate stood up, falling against the wall behind him. He jumped out of his haze, glancing wildly around. He backed up.

"No! No, if this is where I think it is—"

Celestia stopped him with her magic. "This is exactly where you think." She brought him closer. "And you are going to come with us in your own head."

Foxy bared his teeth at the princess. "No, I'm not! So why don't ye all get outta 'ere?"

Luna frowned. "Do not take that tone. We know why you don't want to see your memories."

Foxy paused. "It's personal."

"Your 'accident' affected more than just you, if you remember correctly?" Luna continued. Foxy fell silent. "Alright. This is the first memory. I'm using my magic to propel us forward in this setting. We'll end up anywhere that stands out in your mind."

Rainbow glanced around. "Looks pretty lonely in here."

"Dashie's right! Where is everyone?" Pinkie asked.

Celestia walked forward. "I can detect that the memory starts not in here, but in the next room. There is nearly nothing in this room, can you see? That's because there is not enough memories about it."

"I didn't spend much time in 'ere," Foxy said softly.

Celestia glanced at him, then back at Luna. The lunar goddess nodded for them to keeping going.

"Follow me, my little ponies," Celestia said. The elements trailed behind her as instructed, and Luna stayed back to make sure Foxy did as well. "It's through this wall." The solar goddess vanished as she crossed into the next room. Twilight stopped, startled, before hopping forward. Her tail was the last thing they saw. Rainbow grinned, swooping through it, and Pinkie Pie dove right past. The last three mares came in at a much mellower speed, as did Foxy and Luna.

"Whoa! There's a ship!" Pinkie Pie cooed, pointing at the stage.

"Please, everypony, let's try and stay quiet," Celestia requested. Pinkie didn't make another comment, but the grin on her face stayed put. "The memory will start in a moment."

"Nervous for your first day?" a feminine voice asked. The ponies saw a yellow figure peek in the door on the other side of the room. Foxy, who had appeared on stage, glanced backwards.

"Heh, maybe jus' a lil bit, lass," Foxy replied nervously. Chica padded forward, getting onto the stage. She was a head shorter than him.

Twilight blinked in surprise, watching with large eyes. Foxy wasn't broken in this memory.

"It's alright. I know I was nervous the first time too. But your instincts will just take over, and the programming will help you out as well," Chica said.

"Thanks, lass, but messin' up isn't what I'm really worried 'bout." Foxy's shoulders drooped.

Chica frowned, her eyebrows falling. She scooted a little closer. "You're afraid that the kids won't like you?" Foxy met her eyes and shrugged before looking down.

"Foxy, it'll be okay! The kids are going to love you! I'm sure of it. What kid doesn't like pirates?"

"I'm not a performer like you or Bonnie or Freddy. I just run around and play . . ."

Chica brightened. "But don't you see, that's what kids love the most! They don't like to sing songs, they like to play!" She grabbed his hand/hook and swung him around. Foxy let out a startled squeak as he was spun in a circle. Chica let go, spending him twirling backwards. The chicken then winced as he landed in his ship, his feet hanging over the edge.

"Uh, you okay?" Chica asked timidly. She grinned sheepishly from her position above him.

"At least I'm not worried anymore," Foxy replied with a small sigh.

The area started getting darker again. Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, knowing it was time to move on.

Pinkie Pie smiled, her eyes shining. "Aww, that was so cute!" She turned to Foxy, giving him a hug around his waist. The pirate jumped in surprise. He'd been focused on the sweet memory.

"Wonder where we're going to end up next," Fluttershy said softly to Twilight. The purple unicorn frowned, shaking her head in cluelessness.

Luna lit her horn. "No time to stop and chat, we must continue before Foxy's mind throws us out."

Foxy tipped an ear. "An' why can't I kick you out right now? We're in my 'ead, I should be able to."

"I've cast a spell so the you that is here cannot. The Foxy out in the real world can only do that, but he is not aware. To him, we're not even existent."

Foxy snorted, crossing his arms. Luna rolled her eyes at his attitude.

"Brace yourselves. We're taking a jump. You'll feel a sense of paralysis for just a moment."

"Ugh, how vulgar," Rarity managed to get in right before a wave of darkness crashed over them.

* * *

><p>"Ooh, ooh, do it again!" Chica giggled hysterically. She was sitting on the edge of the ship with Bonnie next to her.<p>

Foxy tried to stop laughing, puffing out his chest. "Alright, alright, one more time." He forced himself to be serious. "Hi, I'm Freddy Fazf*#k!" Foxy waved the microphone of yours truly at them.

Chica and Bonnie fell out of their chairs laughing. They held their stomachs as Foxy howled, putting an arm across his face.

"You're killing me!" Bonnie snorted, burying his face into the floor. Chica was on her back kicking her legs in the air.

"I can't take anymore!" the chicken screeched with laughter. Foxy put his hands on his knees, leaning over. A shadow suddenly fell across them. Chica and Bonnie paused in their mirth and looked up. Their faces fell. Foxy noticed their expressions and turned around.

Freddy stood there with his arms crossed. He raised an eyebrow. Foxy gave a sheepish smile and quickly hid Freddy's microphone behind his back.

"Ahoy, Freddy!" the pirate exclaimed.

"Foxy," the bear said simply, "what do you think you're doing?"

"Doin' what? Was jus' havin' myself a grand ol' time with the others, here!" Foxy waved his hook at Chica and Bonnie who were trying to look somewhat civilized.

"Uh huh." Freddy put his left hand out, the same expression on his face. "Give it to me."

Foxy chuckled weakly, showing his sharpened teeth. He carefully set the microphone into his boss' metal hand.

"Well, I should probably be goin'—"

Freddy reached out and took ahold of Foxy's ear, firmly gripping it. Foxy grimaced as he was led backwards.

"Nuh uh, I don't think so. You're coming with me," Freddy said as he began to tug the fox after him by the ear.

"Now, come on, I didn't do anythin' _really_ wrong—"

"You stole my microphone. That's criminal enough, so do I seriously have to go on?" Freddy gave Foxy an admonishing glare.

Foxy shrank away from the bear's icy blue gaze as much as he could in the position he was in.

"Uh, no," was all the pirate responded with.

"Good, so don't make this harder than it has to be." Freddy tugged Foxy along and walked to a corner. He stuck the pirate there, nearly bumping his muzzle against the wall. "Now stay there."

"But—"

"No buts. I don't want to see your nose out of that corner until I say so." Freddy walked away, and as he did, he gave Bonnie and Chica unimpressed glances.

"Goodnight, Freddy," Chica called nervously, waving a small yellow hand at him as he left.

"Bite me," the bear grumbled, flipping up his middle finger as he left to head back to the party room.

Bonnie blinked. "Someone's grumpy."

Rainbow Dash couldn't contain herself any longer. She fell over with Pinkie right afterwards, both of them laughing their heads off.

Foxy rolled his eyes, arms crossed. "Grow up." He tried to cover his embarrassment as the circuits in his face heated up.

"Look who's talkin'," Applejack said, leaning over to whisper in Rarity's white ear. The dressmaker bit her lip as a small snicker escaped.

"Seems like Freddy was k-kind of a buzzkill to me," Rainbow sputtered through her giggles.

Pinkie gasped from beside the pegasus, her laughing stopping abruptly. "Freddy kills bees?"

"Pinkie, what—"

Luna stepped forward, cutting the ponies off. "I am glad that you have not had too terrible memories so far. But we shall carry on. We still have a long ways in your mind to go through."

"Luna's right. The longer we stay in here, the more we are at risk of damaging something," Celestia added. Foxy's ears stood straight up.

"What!? Damage somethin'?!"

"An insignificant chance, but we could accidently wipe your memory banks or something along that line."

Foxy aimed a fierce glare at the two princesses, but neither of them noticed. A snarl worked its way up in his throat, but he forced it down and turned away, arms crossed.

"The princesses wouldn't have brought us in here if there was a large chance of us breaking you. Try not to doubt them—they know what's best," Twilight said gently. Foxy glanced down at her.

"Aye, I know they're your rulers, but this be my mind—apparently. Ye lasses are seein' some 'a my most private moments, good or bad."

Twilight frowned, really thinking about it. He was 100% correct, and she didn't know how she felt about it. Of course, they were going to see what had caused him to wish himself a second chance, but Twilight felt like it wasn't her right to know. The princesses thought it was the right course of action.

"I'm just going to let you know, I won't judge you. None of us girls will. That's why we're the Elements of Harmony." The other mares had seemingly picked up on this conversation and nodded in unison.

"'course not, sugarcube! You're our pal now, and we'll make sure ya get the support ya need!" Applejack declared heartily.

Foxy tilted his head, eyebrows dropping over his eyes. "Don't be so sure."

* * *

><p>"Freddy, how many times have I told you to stop giving Chica your nose to play with?"<p>

Freddy rolled his blue eyes. "She ruins her bouncy balls all the time, so I let her play with my nose. It's round and squeaks." As if for emphasis, Chica leant forward and gave his nose a squeeze, provoking a small_squeak_ from it. She laughed as Zach swatted her yellow hand away.

"Chica, enough. Freddy can't be giving you his nose anymore—he's forbidden," Zach continued with a scolding tone. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Aw, but what am I going to do if my ball breaks?" Chica asked in a whiny voice. "He's the only one with a round nose!"

"Don't break it, for starters. This is what, your seventh one in three months?" Zach dug in his bag of tools and pulled out a red-and-blue ball. He tossed it at Chica and she giggled, running off.

"Don't see why it's that big of deal," Freddy grumbled as Zach got out his screwdriver. The repair man got to work on Freddy's left knee—which had always been kind of a nuisance to the animatronic—and listened idly to what he had to say.

"Every time you take it off, it chips off a little bit more on the inside. I don't want to have to order you a new nose, of all things."

"Eh. As long as the others are happy."

Zach smiled, letting a small huff of air out of his nose in amusement. Freddy narrowed his eyes at him.

"What do you find amusing?"

"It's just . . . I see the way you are around the others, and you don't always seem like you care," Zach explained.

"And your point is?"

"Why don't you act like you care? I mean, you let Chica play with your nose—stop doing that—and you help Bonnie with his tie, Foxy sometimes needs a nudge in the right direction, but that's about all. You're so . . . grumpy most of the time."

Freddy blinked. "Are you calling me a bad supervisor?"

Zach smirked. "You're not a supervisor."

"What're you trying to say?"

"You're more like a . . . dad, I guess. A rather crude dad, but that's the word I'd use."

Freddy fell silent. He watched as Zach continued working on his knee without saying anything.

"Did that offend you?" Zach asked, looking up, his red cap covering most of his eyes.

Freddy paused, mulling it over. "I guess you're right."

Zach smiled as he stood up. "Now, why don't you act nicer? You obviously care about the other animatronics. I know Foxy would like some advice on controlling his stammer."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We've been helping him, even if you don't believe it. Now scram; we've got a show to get ready for. Your wife is waiting out there," Freddy said, roughly patting the repair guy on the back. Zach tipped his baseball hat to the bear and picked up his tool box.

"Seeyah, Fazbear."

"Bye, Snow White." Freddy smirked at the look of defiance on Zach's face. He lifted up his hat, shaking his snowy blonde hair at him. The repair man exited the back room.

Twilight looked confused. "I don't get it. How is this your memory?"

Foxy scratched the back of his head. "Aye . . . I was eavesdroppin'. Thankfully, Freddy nor Zach caught me."

Pinkie Pie wedged herself between Foxy and Twilight. "What did _you_ think of Freddy, huh huh huh?"

Foxy stiffened. "Uh, I don't know, lass."

The party pony tilted her head. "What do you mean you don't know?"

"It's hard ta explain."

Rainbow Dash lowered herself from the air to hover by his head. "You either liked him or not. Which is it?"

"Neither."

"You can't answer like that!"

Fluttershy nudged the brash pegasus away a few inches. "Dash, girls, please don't try and force any answers out of him, okay? The least we can do is respect his wishes—besides, we're in his mind."

Rarity nodded. "Yes, however odd it may seem, I'm sure there's some sort of—how do you put it—'head etiquette,'" she said.

"That's the silliest thing Ah've heard all day," Applejack commented, rolling her eyes.

Rarity turned, offended. "Well, at least _I_ have etiquette. Seems like you're totally lacking in _that_department."

"Oh, gimme a break." The two glared at each other. "Allow me ta remove that stick fr—"

The unicorn gasped. "Why, I never!"

"Girls!" Twilight exclaimed, pushing the two apart. "Now's not the time for this."

"Correct. We must pay attention to the next scene," Luna said.

Rainbow glanced around. "We've switched already?"

Luna and Celestia glanced around. "Yes, several seconds ago. And you might want to watch carefully. Luna and I have already seen this one," the solar alicorn informed.

Foxy gasped, looking towards the stage. He saw himself walk out and wave to the kids. He backed up against the wall with a whimper. "Please don't make me watch this."

**Author's Note:**

This isn't as long as I was going to make it, but I decided to end it there. Plenty of anguish to come. And you know how I told you that you're going to have mixed feelings about Freddy? Here it comes . . .

And yes, I'm going to bring the other animatronics to Equestria. (+ Mike? _I_ think it'd be pretty funny) I'm glad I got so many votes (all of them yes, BTW) so it's gonna happen! Not now, but soon.

And thanks for all the support on this story! I honestly didn't think it'd get this popular at all. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.


	10. Why

"Arg, me mateys! Who be ready to play with Foxy?"

It was like every other ShowTime—he'd step out onto stage, the kids would grin and become louder as their little cries filled the air, and then the fun would start. But today was not just another day.

The mares watched as Foxy buried his face into his arms, his ears folded down, trying not to hear or see anything that was going on just in front of them. He curled up in a ball on the floor against the wall.

Luna frowned, but it wasn't a stern frown like she usually wore. It was a sympathetic one—she knew what was going to happen, and he did as well. The reaction was exactly as she had expected. She felt her sister step forward.

"Foxy, you need to watch. It'll help you," Celestia said gently yet firmly.

"H-how will seein' that help me in any w-way? If anythin', i-it'll destroy what lil amount of hope w-which I have that I didn't deserve w-what came after!" Foxy cried, his voice muffled.

Luna nearly flinched back at that statement. _Poor thing._ "Foxy, it'll get better. But you must watch what happens." She used her magic to gently tug him from his ball.

"Princess, what's going to happen-?" Twilight tentatively asked.

"Brace yourselves. I know some of your appetite for things such as this are extremely lacking." Twilight raised an eyebrow, and Fluttershy hid behind her, barely peeking out with one eye. The other mares grew stiff, and Rainbow Dash's wing beats slowed down as the air seemed to grow thick with tension.

The child—a male, by the looks of it, Luna decided—sprinted between the repair man's legs—who was now known as Zach, thanks to the former memories. The boy latched onto Foxy's leg.

Blood spattered across the floor. The screams of the children still in the room and the mares watching drowned out what Zach said, but it was vaguely recognizable as:

"Sweet merciful Heaven."

The children continued screaming. Parents and other workers sprinted into the Cove, and some blanched white before covering their mouths and racing off in the other direction.

Foxy was roughly and quickly pushed back by Zach back onto the stage, and the curtains closed.

Fluttershy was still screaming with her hooves over her eyes. The other elements were standing with their mouths open, eyes wide with shock. The two princesses exchanged saddened glances.

Rainbow Dash kicked into action as she realized her friend was still screaming. The cyan pegasus floated down and pulled Fluttershy into a hug, running a hoof down her back.

"It's okay, 'shy. The memory is fading," Rainbow soothed, one of her rare moments of actual affection. Fluttershy's cries melted into sniffles and muffled sobs.

Twilight broke out of her trance as well, blinking a few times. She glanced down at the two pegasi before registering the fact that Foxy hadn't said a word since the beginning of the memory. She turned her attention towards him.

The pirate was back into his position of head in his arms and knees pulled tightly up to his chest. He gently rocked himself back and forth, and even from where she stood, Twilight could see he was shaking.

"Foxy?" the violet unicorn asked hesitantly. She cautiously approached him, one hoof reaching out to touch him. A large wing stopped her before then. Twilight looked up to see Princess Celestia shaking her head. "But Princess—"

"Please, Twilight. Just wait a moment," the white alicorn said softly.

"Princess, are you sure that was the right thing to do?" For the first time in her life, Twilight was actually doubting the motives of her teacher.

Celestia sighed. "It is a touchy matter, but I promise, once there is help given, he'll be better off." She nuzzled her student, and Twilight arched her back into it, raising her face. She felt better after the gesture of affection, and waited in silence. Celestia gently smiled at her before turning to Luna.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, had calmed down enough to lift her face out of Rainbow's shoulder. She blinked wet eyes at Foy, trying to see him from the angle she was at. Fluttershy sat up slightly and Dash loosened her grip. There was a damp path of blue fur on her arm, but she ignored it.

"F-Foxy?" the timid pegasus called, her voice wobbly.

Twilight appeared in her line of vision. "Princess Celestia said to wait a few minutes."

"W-why? He needs to be comforted, just like everypony else. More than anypony else . . ." She sank back into Dash's arms, her eyes the only things showing.

"Maybe she's afraid he'll strike out?" Applejack suggested warily.

"Doesn't look like he will to me," Rarity whispered, her sapphire blue eyes shooting back to get a glance at the animatronic who was still in his ball.

"Doesn't look like he'll do _anything,"_ Pinkie Pie added, a large frown on her face. Her mane hung down in her eyes—not completely straight, but half deflated.

Fluttershy sniffled, clambering out of Rainbow's embrace. "I'm going to comfort him."

"Are ya sure that's a good idea, sugar cube?" AJ asked.

"I'm sure," Fluttershy said with shaky determination.

Twilight frowned. "Wait a second . . . why aren't we at the next memory? Or at least out of Foxy's head." The mares looked around. The world was dark, nothing but blackness surrounding them. It was as if they were floating in darkness. "I'm going to ask the princesses." The unicorn padded forward, heading towards her mentor. The two sovereigns were standing off to the side, simply staring ahead.

"Princess?" Twilight asked, tilting her head to the side. There was no answer. The purple mare narrowed her eyes. As she stood there, she realized that neither of the princess' manes were moving. Twilight had always known that Celestia's mane flowed forever in the solar winds, and she had become accustomed to it, so she didn't even notice it anymore. Two sets of eyes stared without blinking, but their horns were glowing. Twilight backed up, turning towards her friends.

"I don't know what's happening. They seem to be frozen," she reported. Fluttershy furrowed her eyebrows.

"Them I'm going to comfort Foxy," the creamy coated pegasus declared, her gaze set. She trotted gently towards the shaking animatronic.

* * *

><p><strong>It's your fault. It's your fault. You disgusting, worthless piece of—<strong>

_No, no, it wasn't my fault, it wasn't!_

**All that kid wanted was to help you. And what did you respond with? Biting his face. You destroyed his life. You don't deserve to be alive.**

_You're wrong!_

**Bad fox.**

_I'm not—_

**Stop lying to yourself. You know it's true! It's been haunting your every second since the day it happened. You ruined Chica, Bonnie, and Freddy's lives, too. Why do you think you—**

_Shut up! I'll kill you!_

Evil laughing filled Foxy's head. **I'm inside your mind, you idiot. I'm the little voice you hear whenever you think about the bite. They have a name for it, you know. But I'm sure you didn't, because you spend your days **locked** up in your precious little Pirate's Cove like a coward.**

_. . . Wh-what do they call it?_

A dark chuckle resounded in his skull. **It's not the most evil name that your deed deserves, but they call it the Bite of '87. You see, your hideous act has changed more lives than you can count to. I'm almost offended to be called your guilty conscious. But at least it's fun to torture your innocent, fun-loving mind.**

_I'm far from innocent . . ._

**You got that right. At least you're smart enough to know that. Because when you're stuck being the conscious of a robot with the IQ of a kindergartner, things tend to have little meaning behind them.**

_Shut up._

**How about no? I still have plenty of things to **remind** you of.**

_Don't._

**Remember when Freddy—**

_STOP!_

**Oh, is the little foxy-woxy getting angry? Hmmph.**

_Get out of my 'ead!_

The presence of another creature made Foxy jump in surprise. There was a warmness on his back and sides, and he looked up to see the little pegasus Fluttershy giving him a hug. He blinked, startled that after what they had just watched she would still get near him at all. There were obvious tear trails under her eyes and on her cheeks.

"Wha-what are ye doin', lass?" Foxy stammered, shying away as he really processed the situation.

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said simply. She had her eyes shut as she hugged him.

"I—what?" He was puzzled. Why didn't she hate him, just as the other animatronics had after the bite?

"That shouldn't have happened to you."

Foxy sighed. "I was a bad pirate."

Fluttershy looked up, opening her eyes. "What? No you weren't! Not from what we saw. The kids seemed as if they loved you."

Foxy grimaced. "And look what I did to repay them."

Twilight appeared in his vision. "Foxy, are you okay?"

**Oh, look, ponies. Great, just the kind of cowards you need to feel loved.**

_Shut your mouth._

**I don't have a mouth. Must I reiterate this every time—I am a state of consciousness, one that's lurking in the back of your idiotic and childish mind.**

_And why have I never heard you before, then?_

**You've never watched yourself bite that kid's face off. Now you have, and I've awoken fully.**

_Get out._

**I'm about to make your life a living nightmare.**

"No, 'm not 'okay'," Foxy whispered, closing his eyes.

"Of course not. That was a stupid question to ask," the unicorn murmured, falling back onto her haunches.

Applejack sat down next to Twilight. "No point in not makin' absolute sure."

"I guess." Twilight looked away, and the room became eerily silent. It remained that way for a long while.

* * *

><p>The work day was ending.<p>

"See you soon," Freddy called in a happy tone of voice, his hat off and in his hand.

"Bye! Hope you had a good day!" Chica exclaimed. She waved at the kids as they left, a grin on her face. Bonnie, who was standing next to her, smiled and wiggled his ears at a passing family with twins. The girls giggled and bounced forward to catch up with their mother.

"Come on, let's go. I've got a date with a cheesecake at home," a random worker said to another person as they walked out the door. The worker turned and locked the doors before heading off. The lights were dimmed, and as soon as all was still, Freddy yawned, placing his hat back on his head.

"Ugh, can we roam tonight? Mike should be able to cope," the bear said. Chica turned to him and frowned.

"No, Freddy. I know you're the boss around here, but right now, you're not making any decisions. We have an allotted amount of time to find Foxy before Mike gets fired. He has some useful human intel, and if we can get him to identify the glowing stuff, then we can find Foxy!" Chica explained for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Bonnie hopped forward. "Freddy, why are you so against working with Mike? He's not that bad. Plus, to give him credit, he's made it farther than anyone else. We got that last guy in his suit, right?"

Freddy sighed. "I guess I'm just . . . getting old. I've been at this longer than anyone. My circuits were already changed several times; this is just getting irritating."

Chica gave him a small smile. "It's alright, Freddy. But just get through the next hopefully-less-than-a-week, and I'm sure we'll have found Foxy by then."

"Hope so." Freddy swiveled around to head towards backstage.

"It's only eight. We have some time to plan, so let's do that," Chica said.

* * *

><p>Foxy had not said another word since his few before, but Fluttershy <em>had<em> calmed him down a bit more. As in he wasn't shaking violently, but the long-lasting feelings of pain and despair were still present. The princesses hasn't moved or made any kind of motion either. Twilight guessed since their magic was visible, they were using some sort of spell. What kind, she said, she didn't know.

So the mares and Foxy waited in the darkness. It didn't look dark to them, but the darkness was there. The chitchat that could've made the situation less tense was gone. In each ponies' mind, their thoughts on what they'd all just seen were slowly undergoing evaluation. Fluttershy was half-laying on Rainbow Dash, but the brash pegasus didn't seem to mind at all as she was half asleep, having missed her nap earlier that day because of a set of ornery storm clouds. Rarity was idly styling Twilight's mane into a few dozen curls, but it was a joyless task. Applejack had her head resting on Pinkie Pie's tail as she was using it as a pillow. She had her eyes closed, but she was far from asleep. And the party pony was staring at the ground, much like Twilight was while Rarity did her mane.

Though Fluttershy was laying partly on the quickly falling asleep Dash, she also had Foxy next to her. She'd dragged him over a bit and taken to running her hoof over his spine. He was mostly curled up—shivering slightly—but the motion had seemed to calm him down. Though the pain and regret in his eyes was very clear, even though they weren't real.

It was a while before the first sign that the princesses were moving again. It was Rarity who noticed it, with her fine attention to detail. She'd glanced over briefly to check on Fluttershy, and her keen eyes spotted the faintest movement of an ear on Princess Celestia's head.

"Twilight, dear! I think the princesses are moving," Rarity quickly reported with a nudge to the other unicorn's shoulder. Twilight twisted her head around.

"What'd you see?"

"I think I saw Princess Celestia tic an ear, but I could be wrong."

Twilight began to stand up, and Rarity let out an indignant huff at her work being interrupted. The violet unicorn trotted over to the royal sisters. The other mares started to take notice (all except Dash) and turned their heads to look.

"Princess?" Twilight started. She gently poked her mentor's side. A moment afterwards, Luna took a large inhale, startling the unicorn. The blue alicorn's mane kicked into action, the movement more intense than usual. It slowed down to regular speed and she turned to Twilight.

"Twilight Sparkle, is all well?" Luna asked, her voice sounding strained.

Twilight shied away, startled. "Uh, y-yeah. Mostly, I guess. We've just been waiting for you and Princess Celestia to . . . move."

Luna flared her nostrils, looking at her still frozen sister. "Yes, that seems reasonable . . . Hopefully, she shall become active."

"Princess Celestia moved her ear earlier, so—"

"Is that so? Good, then all is well in that department." Twilight noticed the lunar goddess was still breathing quite heavily despite her attempts to calm herself.

"Are you okay?"

Luna blinked, facing the unicorn again. "Me? Yes, I'm fine. Just a side effect . . . of the spell."

"What were you doing anyways?" Twilight asked.

"Foxy's mind was . . . was trying to expel us. My sister and I had to stop him from doing so," Luna explained.

Fluttershy sat up at this, ears pricked. She gently moved away from both of the entities she was with and stood next to Twilight.

"You didn't destroy any of his memories, right?" she asked.

"No, we did not. All we did was let our consciousness go back into the waking world and fix a few . . . things."

Fluttershy wanted more information. "Fix things?"

"Well, to put it this way—Twilight," Luna started, looking at the unicorn, "I'm sorry about your chair."

"Uh, that's alright?" Twilight guessed. "And if you don't mind, princess, how are we still sitting here? Wouldn't his mind expel us if we were moping about between memories?"

"Part of the reason we froze _was_ because of us staying in this one place. Celestia must still be fighting to keep us in place until we can go together."

As if on cue, the celestial guardian broke out of her state. She nearly fell backwards, but managed to stay upright by bending her legs. She stood up, coughing gently.

"Hello, everypony. Hope you had a good, fulfilling rest because we have to leave now," Celestia said, her horn igniting once again. Luna blinked in surprise, did the same, and the world started to shift. Rainbow Dash woke up with a kick of her back leg and a twitch of her wings.

"Thank heavens we're moving again," Rarity said, getting to her hooves. The other mares stood and looked around at the changing scenery.

Foxy grunted, sitting up weakly. He saw the two princesses and shrunk back. Fluttershy frowned, walking over to reassure him.

"Do you have any idea where we're going next?" the yellow pegasus whispered. Her eyes glanced nervously back to the others.

Foxy nodded weakly, his eyes downcast. "I know 'xactly where we be goin' next, lass. And it's not pretty either." Fluttershy winced.

"I hope it doesn't involve blood again."

"Not tech'cally."

"Oh dear." She shifted her wings on her back. "Well, come along. I'll stay with you." She gave him a small, encouraging smile.

"I can't," Foxy whispered, shoulders drooping.

**Look at that, you baby. I know exactly what Freddy would say in this situation.**

_Oh, ye again. Get outta 'ere._

**Aw, just when you were getting comfortable again? That's going to be happening a lot from now on.**

_Comfortable? Please, I'd be more comfortable in a volcano._

"It'll be okay," Fluttershy continued. "I won't be such a baby this time, and I'll keep by you."

Foxy couldn't even manage a weak smile and just closed his eyes. "That's a sweet sentiment, lass, but I'll be tryin' my hardest not ta look."

"Now, now, I know you're scared, but I'm sure the princesses will make you anyways," she finished in a much quieter whisper. Foxy looked at her, sorrow in his eyes. "I'm sorry." The scenery had changed already.

"And 'ere comes the aftershock," Foxy muttered. The mares all glanced about.

The room was dark, but it was evident they were still in Pirate's Cove. Across the section was police tape and in the center, a deep crimson stain on the floor. The mares felt an ominous feeling wash over them.

From the door on the other side of the Cove, Chica busted in. She slammed the door before turning around again. Her face was one of concern and anger. She rushed towards the stage, not caring as she trampled police tape.

"Foxy! Foxy!" she cried, throwing the starry curtains open. On the stage, still half conscious, was Foxy. She grabbed him by the shoulders and jostled him. The pirate jerked into life, eyes lighting up all the way.

"C-Chica?" he muttered, blinking.

"Yes! Quick, you need to apologize to Freddy! He's _really_ angry—"

The door was violently thrown against the wall. Chica and Foxy both flinched, their eyes widening with shock.

"Foxy!" Freddy snarled, his eyes dark. His hand was gripping the microphone with so much force it looked like he would crush it. He stormed up to the stage and placed his hand on Chica's shoulder.

"Out," he ordered.

"Freddy, don't—"

"Listen to me. Get out." Chica sent a fearful glance at Freddy and an apologetic one to Foxy. She reluctantly scurried away, closing the door behind her.

Foxy was already on his feet, backing away from the furious bear. "Freddy, w-what are ye doing?"

Freddy set his microphone down on a nearby table. He then looked up, eyes burning with hatred. In a fluid motion, he leaped on stage and stood in front of Foxy.

"Do you have any idea what doom you've just laid on us?! We could be shut down, replaced—destroyed! All because of you!" Freddy shouted, taking a step forward.

Foxy took another step backwards. "'t'was an accident. I was glitching."

"Excuses, excuses. That's all you ever have, huh?" They were steps apart, Foxy backed up against the wall. "I'll teach you." Before Foxy could even react, Freddy's hand was around his throat and was lifting him off the ground. The mares in the background gasped as they saw this. Fluttershy flung her hooves around the Foxy beside her.

Freddy turned around, still with Foxy in his grip, and launched him across the Cove. He landed with a crash of metal a few paces away from the stage. The bear dropped off the stage.

Foxy whimpered, scooting away. It was a pathetic attempt, since Freddy was a step away and already reaching for his foot. The bear grabbed the pirate around the ankle and pulled so that their faces were aligned.

"Do you have anything to say before you're so badly beaten you can no longer talk?" Freddy growled, a malicious smile on his face.

Foxy put his arms up to his chest, an apology squeaking out of him. "I'm sorry!"

"An apology doesn't change what you did." Freddy's fist raised up and smashed right into the fox's jaw.

"I can't watch!" Fluttershy wailed, using her wings to cover her eyes. The sound of metal against metal filled the air. Even the princesses seemed taken aback.

Foxy finally managed to get his body working again and lashed out, but Freddy caught his wildly thrown fist.

The bear growled. "Cute. Fighting back, ay? Can't allow that, now can we?" Freddy pressed Foxy harder against the floor. His fingers gripped Foxy's hand and he pushed. The metal joints in Foxy's hand began to creak. The pirate hissed through his teeth, trying not to let the pain show. It didn't work for long, as Freddy—malevolent grin wider than before—pushed harder. Foxy's hand snapped backwards and he let out a screech of anger and pain, trying to kick Freddy off.

"Didn't you learn not to—gah!" Freddy fell backwards, gaze lighting up with surprise. A hand shot up to his eye, covering one part of his face. Foxy scrambled to his feet, backing away with a feral snarl.

Freddy brought his hand away. Four scratches—two below and two above his eye—showed where Foxy had bitten him. "You little brat!"

"S-stay back, ye hear me?" Foxy warned. His voice was shaky.

Freddy glowered, ignoring the sting of his bite marks. "You've just proven that you're guilty."

"Wh-what?"

Freddy pointed to the marks. "You bit me, you dolt."

"That d-doesn't mean anythin'."

"I'm afraid it does." Freddy approached him, eyes black. Foxy backed away, stumbling over upturned chairs. His leg finally caught on a stray edge and Freddy grabbed him by his shoulders.

"Might wanna move," Foxy started, voice sad, earning the mares' attention. "This is where he throws me." A few moments later, the younger Foxy came at them in a blur of red. The mares scattered even though they wouldn't interrupt anything.

"Are you learning yet, Foxy?!" Freddy roared, towering over the pirate. Foxy grimaced, weakly sitting himself against the wall.

"P-please, Freddy, stop," Foxy whimpered. His ears were down against his head.

"You can still talk," Freddy pointed out, light shining out from his mouth as his eyes flickered. Freddy snatched Foxy's hand and yanked him to his feet. The bear brought his fist back and punched Foxy, sending him twirling towards the stage. The pirate landed right in front of it on his back. Freddy stomped over and once again roughly picked Foxy up. He mustered up some strength and threw his arm up, digging his hook into Freddy's arm. The bear gasped and then snarled, facial expression now angrier than ever. He grabbed Foxy's arm joint and twisted.

"Aaah!" Foxy gave a cry of pain and struggled in Freddy's hold. The bear yanked the hook out of his arm with the other hand and then took ahold of Foxy's jaw. He jerked it sharply to the side, damaging it and other controls on the inside of his muzzle area. Foxy's wail turned into a broken, high pitched screeching and Freddy laughed.

Freddy hauled Foxy onto stage, his angry beating nearly over. He pushed the pirate backwards, causing him to stumble. Foxy kicked and hit Freddy in his left knee. Toppling sideways, Freddy's eyes lit up with surprise. With one hand still on Foxy's shoulder, the pirate was spun around and pushed forward as the hand's weight vanished. Freddy landed on his bad side and stuck out an arm to catch himself.

Foxy fell onto his ship. The short bowsprit on the front went right through his chest. Foxy's eyes immediately went dark and he slumped down, arms hanging in front of him.

The mares stood in shocked silence as the memory began to fade. The princesses even had their mouths nearly hanging open.

"Wow, Freddy is a real meanie," Pinkie Pie said with a tone of sadness in her voice.

**Author's Note:**

Yes, I just did that. What do you think about Freddy now?

What did you learn from these past two chapters? Don't trust me.

Want the link to my versions of the FNaF characters? Check my profile!


	11. No Idea What I'm Doing LEL

The colors blended together as the memory transitioned into the next one. The mares were shocked as ever, the words Pinkie Pie had spoken just moment ago not even registering in their minds. Nopony talked as the next memory became clear. They were backstage again, and they saw the repair man. Freddy sat on the table, powered down. Zach was busy screwing some things back into place on his knee. The bite marks on his face were melded back into his metal, no sign as to whether or not they were there in the first place.

"Foxy . . . I'm sorry," Zach said suddenly, standing up from his crouch. The pirate glanced up from the floor, where he was leaning against the wall. A few metallic screeches were emitted from his throat in reply. Zach turned to look at him. "I can fix that; I'm done with Freddy." Zach bent down and took ahold of Foxy's arm, hauling him onto his feet. The fox sat down on the table as soon as the repair man moved Freddy off.

Zach started firstly on repairing his voice and then fiddled with his jaw before realizing he didn't have enough supplies to fix it. He blinked and then grabbed Foxy's hand to repair the joint there.

"I'm sorry, buddy. I can't even do anything more for you. I got the news earlier; they're deactivating you. They told me make any last fixes that I could—they don't know about what you currently look like—and then . . . I'm relieved from my job," Zach said forlornly with a shrug of his shoulders.

Foxy blinked. "W-what?" he gasped, his voice still scratchy, "ye can't leave!"

Zach smiled, scratching Foxy behind the ear. "Don't be sad over me. You should be thinking of what's going to happen to you. Seems like Pirate's Cove is shut down from here on out."

The pirate slumped down, his ears falling. "So . . . I'm never gon' get fixed?"

"No." There was no use sugarcoating it.

Foxy sighed. "That's what I deserve, anyhow. I bit that lad."

Zach frowned, not knowing what to say. "I . . . yes, you did. And there's nothing we can do. Even if they wanted you to, you'd never be able to perform again. Especially for kids."

"Ah. I see."

"But maybe I'll see you guys around, huh? I may not work here anymore, but it's not like I'm banned from the establishment."

"But what reason are ye gonna have fer returnin'? Not a soul besides ye even knows we're actually . . . livin', per say."

"Well . . . I was going to keep this a secret until she was farther along, but . . . Tricia is pregnant!"

Foxy's eyes brightened. "Ye're havin' a baby!" His tail started wagging. "Lad or lass?"

"We don't know yet. She's going in next week for an ultrasound, so we'll find out then."

"How far along are ye?"

"Uh, eighteen weeks."

Foxy smiled. His jaw fell slightly to the side and he quickly grabbed it, embarrassed. Zach frowned. The fox glanced up and his ears fell back.

"Say, lad, I've got a question . . ." Foxy started.

"Yeah?" Zach adjusted his hat.

"Is it . . . my fault that ye're gettin' fired?"

"No, don't think that way. I should've put you out of order until I'd fixed that glitch that had sprung up in your systems." Zach reached out a hand and scratched Foxy under the chin. The pirate flicked his ears idly and didn't move. "Well . . . I better get going. Gotta get a new job soon as I can; I'll have another mouth to feed here." Zach patted Foxy on the head and dropped down on one knee to turn Freddy on. "Run along to Pirate's Cove—I'm activating Freddy now."

"Aye, aye, cap'n," Foxy said. He slipped off the table and went for the door.

"And Foxy, don't let Freddy do this. Ever again."

Foxy paused at the door, his hand up and ready to open it. He didn't look back as he pushed it open.

* * *

><p>It was a few months after the incident. Foxy had been cut off for the most part, never seeing the others as the court trial took place. When the news finally came that the company had won the argument, the restaurant was relieved. But the drawback was the animatronics were no longer allowed to wander during the day. Their time was now only at night. It was a few days afterwards when Foxy noticed his hook arm was falling off.<p>

The pirate inspected his appendage, the forearm now only loosely connecting to his upper arm by a thin amount of wires. He tilted an ear, thinking of what to do. He had thin, nimble fingers on his one hand, but this required two. Perhaps Bonnie would help him? He hadn't talked to him for a long while, but he was sure he'd still help.

Foxy emerged from Pirate Cove for the first time in months. He checked both ways for anyone that might've had to work late before sneaking off stage and down the hall to the party room. Bonnie was currently the only one in there. He had his back to him.

"Arr, lad, could I get your help with somethin'?" Foxy asked, trying to put the usual amount of tone in his voice since the accident.

The purple bunny stiffened. An ear twitched.

"Me arm's fallin' off, and I need an extra hand. If ye could jus' hold it closer I could connect the wires—"

"No," Bonnie said stiffly.

Foxy's peaceful exterior faltered. "What?"

Bonnie turned around angrily, his maroon eyes burning. "I said no! Get out of here." He stood up.

"But, lad, me arm's fa—"

"First of all, you can stop calling me 'lad', and secondly, I don't _care_ about your problem. You caused_us_ more problems than we can ever fix, so just stop your complaints."

Foxy looked stunned. "I'm not _complainin'_—"

Bonnie shoved Foxy backwards, allowing the pirate to stumble over his own feet.

"Leave," Bonnie snarled. Foxy backed away, ears down. He quickly scurried off to Pirate's Cove, his good arm cradling his broken one. In the midst of running away, he bumped into something. He bounced backward and saw Chica blinking in confusion. She noticed him and scowled.

"What are _you_ doing out?" the chicken hissed, crossing her arms.

"I—I jus' needed to get me arm f-fixed . . ." Foxy stammered. Chica glanced at his arm and seemed to soften slightly. There was still a frown on her normally happy face, but she took a step forward and grabbed ahold of Foxy's arm. Her yellow fingers worked quickly and she roughly tugged the wires back into place before clicking some of the clips to hold it in position. She abruptly dropped his hand, not even taking notice of the somewhat pained expression on his face.

"There. Now go back to Pirate's Cove," Chica ordered. "Better not let Freddy see you." She hurried off heatedly. Foxy watched her go. His shoulders slumped as he turned to go back to Pirate's Cove.

* * *

><p>A bright light filled the ponies' eyes. They felt a pulling sensation as they were tugged back into the waking world. The time lock shattered as they faded back into their bodies. The mares sluggishly lifted their heads and moved their legs. The two princesses shook their heads and their manes kicked into action. Foxy, who was still bound in the chair, didn't stir.<p>

"Urrgg . . . did that really just happen?" Rainbow Dash's voice broke through the faint sound of sighing at the relief of finally being back in their own bodies.

"Yes, I'm having that kind of feeling as well," Rarity commented, running a hoof through her mane.

Pinkie Pie hopped up, hair trembling. "Hey! Freddy was a big fat meanie! Somepony ought to teach him a lesson about friendship!"

Applejack flicked her tail. "Agreein' with ya, Pinks."

"Everypony, I hope you've all learned from the experiences we've shared together," Luna started. She moved towards Foxy and lit her horn. The magic binding him faded away and he woke up suddenly, falling forward.

Fluttershy stepped forward. "Princess . . . what do we do now? I don't understand."

Celestia looked down at the pegasus. "Now we confront the issues at hoof."

Foxy picked himself off the floor and gave his head a shake. He glanced over to see the ponies looking at him. Foxy's eyes grew dark and he stood up, snarling.

"How _dare_ ye? Messin' 'bout in me head, lookin' at my life as if t'were some sort 'a movie!" Foxy growled in a threatening way. The two princesses didn't say anything. "Great, jus' great! Don't even care, do ye?"

Luna's face became one of offense. "How dare _you_ to actually say that we do not care. Why would we have done it if not to help you?" The lunar princess took an intimidating step forward. Celestia held her wing out, blocking the smaller alicorn's path.

"Luna, he has a point," the solar goddess said gently. Luna raised an eyebrow at her older sister, but backed up so Celestia could fold her wing back in. "We've taken advantage of him and done personal things without his consent. For that, we are sorry."

Foxy crossed his arms. "Apology not accepted."

Celestia dipped her head. "Then I feel as if we should be off. What are your plans tonight, girls?"

Pinkie Pie thrust herself forward, nabbing Foxy and swinging him around in her grip. "I call slumber party at Twilight's!"

Rainbow Dash grinned. "I'm so in!"

"Ah'll stay too."

"Um . . . yeah."

"Of course, darling, what a good idea."

Twilight smiled. "Okay, that's fine with me." She turned to Princess Celestia. "Slumber party here."

The solar goddess smiled at her student and looked outside. "Hmm, it is nearly time to lower the sun. Luna and I really must be going. Have a good time." Luna glanced at her sister before approaching Twilight. She dipped her head to the unicorn.

"Do what you must," the lunar sovereign hissed softly in her ear as she lowered her head. Twilight nodded slightly as Luna backed away. In a flash of multicolored light, the two princesses were gone.

* * *

><p>Pinkie Pie flapped her bright pink (what other color did you expect?) sleeping bag up and down to shake the crumbs off it. It'd been resting in her cupboard (for what reason, they didn't know) and so she had to get it ready. Rarity set her light purple bedsleeping bag on the floor. She'd wanted to take the guest bed, but of course she had to be a good house guest and sleep with everypony else. Applejack had a dark green sleeping bag and Rainbow Dash a red-and-blue-and-yellow one. Twilight had one with pink and purple lines streaking across the front of the blue fabric. And Fluttershy had a teal one with a vine design on it. Foxy had insisted he didn't need one, but Rarity (being the ever-so generous and overly pushy on occasion pony she was) insisted that he get at least a blanket to lay on and pillow, if not a sleeping bag. Of course, he'd rolled his eyes at her but it was forced upon him.

"Ooh, this is gonna be great!" Pinkie Pie declared, jittery from her permanent sugar high.

"Ye_ahh_! What are we going to do? Tell scary stories? Play truth or dare?" Rainbow asked with a smirk on her face, rubbing her hooves together.

"We could give each other makeovers!" Rarity squeed, voice rising an octave in an adorable manner.

"Bor_ing_."

Twilight strode forward. "Since this was Pinkie's idea, maybe we should let her pick?" The six others looked over at the party pony, who was currently trying to see if she could move like a caterpillar in her sleeping bag. She glanced up with big blue eyes, ceasing her activity.

"I know! How about we all pick something to do? Then everypony has fun doing what they like!" Pinkie suggested. She popped out of her sleeping bag.

"That's . . . actually a well thought out idea that could benefit everybody," Applejack said, impressed.

"Thanks!"

"So, Pinkie, why don't you pick first?" Twilight asked, laying down and tucking her hooves under her, then finished it off with wrapping her tail around her body. The other mares followed suit, though Rainbow Dash remained hovering in the air. Pinkie grinned, eyes lighting up right away.

"I already know! We're going to have sleeping bag races!" As she said this, the party pony grabbed her pink bag and hoisted it up, showing off the darker pink bubbles decorating its surface. "Just grab your bag and get in, then we zip it up and crawl all over!"

Rarity winced, flattening hers down somewhat. "Uh, Pinkie, darling, this is such a great idea, but, um, may I not partake in this activity?"

Pinkie frowned, giving her friend puppy eyes. "But pl_eeeasse_?"

"Darling—"

"Please?"

". . . I don't know . . ."

"Rarity, do it for me?"

The fashionista sighed and shimmied into her purple sleeping bag. "Fine. But just to point out, Foxy does not have one, so how is he going to play?"

Pinkie Pie looked over at the animatronic. "Hmm . . ." She tapped her chin. "Twilight, do you have an extra sleeping bag?"

The violet unicorn shook her head. "No, sorry. I only have one for Spike and I, and obviously, Spike's would be much too small."

Pinkie huffed. "Great! Now not everyone's included!"

Foxy shrugged. "I be fine, lass. Right as rain. You ponies play your game." Rainbow rolled over casually, like it was the most normal thing to do.

"You really okay with not playing?" the cyan pegasus asked.

"Aye. It's alright, really."

"Okay, if you say so! Come on, everypony, to the starting line!"

* * *

><p><strong>Hmm, let's see . . .<strong>

_Go 'way._

**Wasn't it great, reliving all those memories? I should thank those pony rulers.**

_Why are ye here?_

**I've already made my intentions clear—to make you go completely and utterly insane.**

_I'm already insane. Can't break somethin' that's already broken._

The voice seemed to smirk, giving a sound of doubt. **If you had a toy truck, and it was broken—it's missing a wheel, let's say.**

_Where ye goin' with this?_

**Then you ripped its other wheels off and also the doors. What would it be then?**

_. . . Broken._

**Hmmph. You can ignore it all you want, but one thing's for certain—you won't make it out alive.**

* * *

><p>"Fluttershy wins again! Wow, how are you so good at this?"<p>

Said pegasus looked over at Pinkie Pie, who'd spoken. "Oh, I don't know, honestly. Probably just good luck."

Rainbow wiggled out of her sleeping bag and took it in her mouth, flying it back to her place in the circle between Rarity and Fluttershy.

"Yeah, 'shy, that was pretty awesome how you kept winning!" the brash pegasus declared.

Twilight placed her bag down as well. "Since you won, how about you pick the next activity?"

Fluttershy shrunk down. "W-well, I don't know . . . Rainbow or somepony else can have my turn . . ."

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie bounced forward. "That's not how it works!"

"Can I at least have some time to think? Have somepony else go first . . ."

The party pony nodded. "We can do that! Who wants to pick?"

Rarity scooted bashfully forward. "Um, I don't mean to sound selfish, darling, but could I pick?"

"Sure thing, Rares!"

Applejack sighed, running a hoof down her face. "Oh boy, Ah know what we're doin' next . . ."

"Makeovers!" the unicorn cried happily, clopping her front hooves together.

"Ooh, sounds fun!" Pinkie exclaimed. She quickly grabbed Applejack and sat her on the floor. "I know exactly what to do with your mane, AJ!"

"Uh, okay, just nothin' too girly," the earth pony agreed.

"Foxy, you really need a makeover! Come along," Rarity said, producing a small stool. Foxy tilted his head at her.

"A makeover?" the pirate asked, confused.

"Yes, dear. Now come on; it might take a while to get through your . . ." She let her well trained eyes to roam over his fur. "Rats' nest of a pelt. On the floor you go!" She used her magic to nudge him over to sit on the floor. She stood up on the stool, a pair of scissors and a comb in her magical grip.

"This is gonna be good," Rainbow whispered into Fluttershy's ear from behind where she was braiding her friend's pink mane. Nearby, Twilight, who was brandishing a curling iron to use on Pinkie's mane, nodded, a smirk on her muzzle. The mares snickered as their minds imagined what might be Foxy's new style.

* * *

><p>"Actually not as bad as Ah thought it was goin' to be," Applejack commented as the group of ponies studies Foxy, who was also checking himself out in the full-length mirror Rarity had provided.<p>

"What'd ye think it was goin' ta be?" Foxy asked as he turned around. The longer fur on his head was formed into a serious of spikes that stuck out over his eyes.

"Uh, really girly and over the top?" Rainbow Dash said before AJ could.

"Please, girls, Foxy here is a gentlecolt. Besides, if there was any sort of feminine mane style it would look absolutely atrocious, I can tell you that much. I just fixed his current flair," Rarity said professionally.

"Well, I gotta say, I didn't know what I looked like 'fore, but I'm sure I look better now," Foxy commented.

"Why thank you, dear." The white unicorn activated her magic briefly to pat down a fluffed up part on his tail. "So, now that we all have had a bit of time to relax, who is going to pick what we do next?"

"Fluttershy, do you know what you want to do?" Pinkie Pie asked, springing forward.

The pegasus shrank back. "O-oh, um, yes, I think I do. I was just thinking a nice, simple board game."

"Oh, that sounds great. I have a small selection—I'll go grab them," Twilight said, already trotting off. The ponies waited briefly until she got back. "Alright, I've got six to choose from." The unicorn floated the six games in front of her face. "Hooves and Ladders, Apples to Apples, Pictionary, Quelf, Life, and Scattergories."

"Ugh, please not Life," Rainbow groaned.

"Not Scattergories either. 'm bad with words," Applejack added.

Rarity glanced over at the two of them. "Girls, this is supposed to be Fluttershy's choice."

"N-no, it's fine. I didn't really want to play those anyways. Quelf is kind of . . . vulgar at times, and so is Apples to Apples, plus Hooves and Ladders is a game for little foals . . . I think Pictionary," Fluttershy decided.

Twilight set the chosen game down onto the table. "Good choice. Gather round, everyone." The seven individuals positioned themselves around the coffee table.

"So, here are the rules," Twilight continued, "one of us uses this board and starts to draw something. Whatever they want." Rainbow grinned, starting to stick a hoof in the air. "No, please not anything extremely inappropriate."

The rainbow-maned pegasus smirked. "You said 'extremely'. Challenge accepted."

Twilight frowned. "Please don't." She got only an eyebrow wiggle from Dash. "Ugh. Alright, anyways, the drawer picks what they want to draw, and everyone else guesses. First one to get it right is the next one to draw. If no one guesses and we give up, the drawer goes again."

"Ooh, ooh, can I go first?" Pinkie Pie quickly piped, waving her hooves.

"Is everyone okay with that?" There was a chorus of yeahs, yesses, and ayes, and then the white board and marker was scooted over to Pinkie. The party pony grinned and took the cap off, using her mouth to grip the black marker. She immediately started to draw.

"Uh," Rarity started with an eyebrow raise, "is it a cake?"

Pinkie dropped her marker. "Yes!"

The white unicorn blinked, satisfied. "Oh, look at that! In the first ten seconds!"

"Ten seconds flat," Dash commented.

Rarity took the board with her magic. "Alright, hmm, what to do . . ." She glanced around briefly before her eyes lit up. Her glittering aura surrounded the marker, taking the cap off, and began drawing. The ponies and not pony around the table studied her drawing carefully.

"It looks like a bear," Foxy said.

Rarity frowned. "It's not."

"Really?"

"Yes, really!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the doodle. It looked distinctly familiar . . .

"Is that supposed to be Spike?"

Rarity beamed. "Yes, darling! Très bien! Sorry, I'm not used to drawing living creatures. As you know, it's usually dresses on a printed model."

"It's not that bad."

Rainbow leaned over to get a closer look. "I don't know, where are the spikes?"

"Shush," Rarity scolded as she pushed the materials over to the other unicorn.

Twilight already had an idea, so she just uncapped the marker and pressed its tip the white board. She hesitated before beginning, but continued at a better pace when she got adjusted. A line here, a line there, and she finished. She held it up.

The crowd in front of her just stared with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Well, aren't you going to guess? Why are you all giving me that look?"

Applejack smirked, but tried to hide it. "Uh huh, um, Twilight? What, uh, what is it s'posed to be?"

Twilight blushed. "W-what do you mean?"

"Like," Rainbow Dash had gotten into the air and lowered herself in front of the unicorn, "we don't know what _that_ is." She pointed to the board with a blue hoof.

"Are you saying my doodle isn't good?"

"Not exactly," Rarity started.

"Um, kinda," Pinkie Pie interjected. Rarity quickly turned and smacked her with a rolled up newspaper.

"It's not bad," Fluttershy murmured.

"We're not sayin' it's bad, we're sayin' ye better tune your skills with that thing on your head," Foxy said plainly. Rarity gasped and turned to him as well, resulting in him getting a newspaper upside the head instead of what Pinkie got.

Twilight sighed, shoulders slumping. "So you give up?"

"Yeah, duh."

"Sorry, sugarcube, but eeyup."

"Unfortunately so."

"Yeppuroony!"

"Aye, lass."

"Sorry . . ."

"It was the symbol for the princesses. You know, the whole sun and moon thing," Twilight answered with a wave of her hoof.

The others blinked at the picture, eyes scrutinizing.

Rainbow made a huffing sound. "How?!"

**Author's Note:**

A bit of fun. And no idea where the plot of this is going, but whatevs. Princesses seem evil, Foxy's hearing a voice, WAT?! Even I have no clue.

Plus, sorry for the wait. I had a family crisis (again) and was busy. Also, other stories need to be updated . . .

Others are coming soon! :D


	12. Don't Be

l

"Fine, if you're so sure you can't tell what it is, then you go, Dash," Twilight huffed, pushing the board and marker away.

"Alrighty then! Sweet! What to draw . . ." Rainbow Dash muttered, tapping her chin. She seemed to get an idea . . .

"It's the Wonderbolts," Fluttershy said simply.

"Correct! See, Twilight, you can actually tell what _my_ drawing is!" Dash grinned in pride as she passed along the items. Twilight rolled her eyes but switched her attention to Fluttershy. She was carefully sketching what looked like some sort of animal, but they couldn't tell just yet.

"Wait, that that thing that attacked me in the for'st?" Foxy asked, pointing.

Fluttershy glanced up. "Which one? Gotta know the name."

Foxy paused, thinking. "That . . . _mantocir_ or whatever."

"Close enough." She nudged over the board and marker.

Foxy fumbled with the marker for a few seconds, the writing utensil a little too small for his hand. He then stopped.

"Something wrong?" Rarity asked.

"Uh, jus' realized I've never actually . . . drawn anythin'," Foxy said awkwardly.

"It's not that hard. Just think of something, and try to make it," Twilight advised.

"Aye, jus' don't expect to be able ta know what it is." He began to painstakingly scribble something down. The ponies watched with curiosity. They focused closely on what was being drawn, all wanting to get it.

"Oh, land sakes, even I can't tell what this is s'posed ta be," Foxy mumbled, embarrassed as he set the white board down.

"Uh, yeah, we're all kinda getting that impression," Rainbow snorted, an eyebrow raised at the drawing.

"I'm _also_ getting the impression that this probably has something to do with pirates," Twilight said.

"Aye, ye be right on."

* * *

><p>Celestia turned towards her sister.<p>

"I believe we have interfered enough. Perhaps my idea was not as well thought out as I had originally believed," the solar goddess worried.

"Maybe we could've approached that with a bit more grace, but we may need to do more," Luna said gravely.

"I'm sure Twilight and her friends can help more than we can."

"It's not just Foxy that needs to be changed." Luna gazed out at the deep blue sky. The moon shone high in the sky, stars twinkling.

"Yes, I understand, but we cannot just bring other creatures into our land willy-nilly."

Luna furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you calling my plan absurd?"

Celestia blinked, leaning back. "Of course not. I'm just suggesting, that after what has just occurred, we should wait a few weeks—possibly months, depending on how long it takes for Foxy to regain his composure. I'm sure he's hurting on the inside. He seemed well offended by what we'd done."

"Of course," Luna started, taking a few steps in the other direction, "I see your point, sister. And I agree, let us wait. I shall be checking in on his dreams often, however."

Celestia dipped her head. "And I encourage that aspect." She ruffled her wings on her back. "Though I have a quick question before you leave."

Luna twitched an ear.

"Why do you care so much? Of course, I care about any living thing, but with you it seems . . . different," Celestia explained.

Luna hesitated, her ears falling backwards. "It's . . . about Nightmare Moon. I wasn't aware of the power of the Nightmare, and many suffered the price of my actions. Foxy seems like an ideal specimen for the Nightmare to reside in. I fear what may happen if that kind of force takes over him."

Celestia nodded carefully. "I fully comprehend you concerns. Perhaps we should watch more carefully."

"Indeed."

* * *

><p>After riveting sleeping bag races, amazing makeovers, a somewhat confusing game of Pictionary, a bit of rowdy truth-or-dare, and finally some thrilling charades, it was Twilight's turn to pick. She settled down in her spot, curled up, and crossed her forelegs over one another.<p>

"Talk. I'd like to talk," the book smart unicorn said simply.

"Talk?" Rainbow Dash deadpanned, slumping in the air.

Fluttershy laid down in her spot. "I'm fine with that."

"As am I—I'm quite worn out from what we've already done," Rarity commented.

"But it's only like two in the morning!" Dash argued.

"We're not going to sleep—we're just going to talk," Twilight said.

"'bout what?" Applejack wondered as she sat down.

"Anything, really."

Fluttershy glanced over. She mouthed "Foxy?" to her friend. Twilight hesitated before nodding lowly.

"Fine, I'll sit. But make sure we talk about something interesting," Dash continued. She beat her wings to come down to the ground, then made herself comfortable. As soon as everyone was sitting, laying down, or something in between, Twilight started.

"So, I know we've all had a . . . rough day, but I just want to say thank you all for not panicking. Well, uh, most of us," the violet unicorn finished with a cough, flustered. "Anyways, um, just wanted to talk about the events."

Foxy blinked once and then stood up.

"Foxy! Don't leave! We need to talk to you!" Twilight exclaimed, leaping to her hooves.

"I don't wanna talk 'bout it," the pirate growled, his back to the group.

"Well"—Twilight fumbled for words—"suck it up!"

Foxy stopped in his tracks. Twilight grimaced, and the whole room seemed to drop a few degrees. Foxy slowly turned around, eyes burning. Twilight winced before leaning back a bit.

"Uh, eh heheh," the unicorn stammered weakly.

Foxy took a step towards her. Even if he wasn't as tall as Celestia, Twilight would still be frightened. Being faced down by an alicorn that was 9' 6" was terrifying in itself, but a robot that she'd just seen bite a kid's face off? And then still managed to get beaten up by another robot that was that tall as well? Nuh uh, there's going to be fear involved.

"What did ye jus' say?" Foxy hissed quietly.

Twilight found herself floundering for words, but then she puffed out her chest, her argument prepared.

"I said, suck it up! Yes, I understand completely. You're heartbroken—I would be too, if that had happened to me, and especially if I was forced to watch it—but you're going about it in the wrong way. Getting angry may seem like an appropriate reply, and it _is_ justified, yet it's not the best choice," Twilight rebuked. "We only want to help you, and you're just pushing us off. If Princess Luna brought you here, that means she saw some means of assisting you. Fluttershy and I have been working our flanks off to get everything done—we stayed up _hours_ searching for you after you ran off; I _didn't_ blow you to pieces before the princesses came yesterday. We can fix this, but only together. So for right now, I want you to sit your butt down, listen up, and answer our questions, or else I'll use a restraining spell! And trust me, it wouldn't be pleasant!" She finished with a stomp of a hoof, her voice escalating. Foxy's jaw hung open, eyes wide. He looked like he was attempting to come up with some sort of retort to that, but didn't say anything as he went and sat back down in his spot next to Fluttershy and Rainbow. Twilight nodded, a firm look on her face. She turned and plopped herself back into her fluffy seat.

"Now, as I was saying," the purple unicorn restarted, "we want to know more so we can help you. I know we all have questions, so we're going to ask." She glanced around. "Don't hold back with questions, alright? And Foxy, if a question goes too far, just don't answer. Try your best, however." She got a quiet chorus of agreements, and then silence.

"I have a question," Dash announced, deciding not to wait. "So you went crazy that one night—why aren't you all angry and stuff now?"

Foxy hesitated. "Tis . . . complicated. Roamin' mode is a touchy matter. Usually when we go inta it, we act deranged, though we can interact when the time comes. We can also turn it on and off, but only before the night, not durin'. Our servers get picky if it's off too long, so we don't have much 'a choice 'bout it."

"I _guess_ that makes sense."

"You're not on roamin' mode now, are ya?" Applejack asked.

Foxy shook his head in reply. "Course not."

"Jus' makin' sure."

Twilight hummed to herself for a moment. "You can feel pain, right?"

"Aye," Foxy replied.

"Huh, I just recalled that from earlier. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't rip your arm off." She paused. "I'm performing some tests later."

Dash leaned over, one hoof covering her mouth. "Good luck."

Rarity tentatively stuck a hoof in the air. "Excuse me, darling, but I'd also like to ask something. After what happened with the bite, the other animatronics treated you so horribly! Surely they'd listen to you when you said it was an accident?"

"Sadly, when Freddy's schedule is messed up, he gets angry . . . Chica and Bonnie were angry too, and then they just stopped bein' nice as well. I didn't expect 'em to, either," Foxy answered, his tone saddening.

"It's okay, don't be sad," Fluttershy said. She put a hoof on his arm.

Rarity frowned. "Even that little bird—Chica, if I'm correct—she treated you horribly as well! I thought you two were fairly close. You'd make a cute couple—"

"A-aye, we were good pals," Foxy quickly cut her off before she could say anything more. His face heated up but he hoped no one else could tell. "But if ye destroyed someone's life, do ye think they'd forgive ye so easily?"

Rarity hesitated, glancing away. "I-I guess not. Though surely you could've worked something out?"

"Sadly, no. I knew from that day on I was doomed ta live alone."

"Oh come on, Foxy! You couldn't have known that!" Pinkie Pie declared.

"They're obviously not very loyal," Dash muttered.

"Jus' calm down. I've learned ta accept the fact that I'm not good 'nough," Foxy murmured.

**Boo hoo. Are you glad the ponies are taking care of your little baby self?**

Foxy stopped talking abruptly. The mares switched their full attention to him.

**Am I interrupting something? Whoops, my bad.**

_. . . What're ye doin' back?_

"Foxy?" Fluttershy asked tentatively. She tapped on his side.

"Hmm?" It was as if someone flipped a switch. He seemed fully in control.

"Are you okay?" Twilight wondered.

"Aye, course I am. Why?" He tilted his head.

"You just . . . kinda blanked out," Rainbow added.

"How long?"

"'bout ten seconds. You stopped movin' an' froze," Applejack countered.

"Huh." Foxy scratched his head. "Probably jus' a system glitch. I've been known ta have those, as ye are all aware."

Twilight nodded thoughtfully. "Okay then." Her face was still one of concern, as were the other mares in the room. "I'll take a look later, I think." She then perked up. "Oh, and since we saw what you looked like before, do you want me to redesign your repairs? I just went off what I thought you'd look like."

"That's fine."

A dark chuckle reverberated dully in his head.

* * *

><p>"I'm so glad you're coming with us to Appleloosa to plant Applejack's tree. She's been getting the tree ready for weeks, and today is finally the day," Fluttershy said. Foxy walked beside her, deftly ignoring the stares of various towns' ponies in the general vicinity. It'd been a little over a week, and he'd only been outside a few times. Ponies still stared, and most of them didn't trust him. Probably didn't help that he was freakishly tall for a normal citizen of Equestria.<p>

"Aye, s'no big deal. It'll be great ta see some more 'a your lil world," the pirate commented.

"Oh, I'm glad you're not scared. If I was you, I'd be terrified." Fluttershy ruffled her wings, quivering.

"Come on you two! You're gonna miss the train if ya don't hurry!" Rainbow Dash proclaimed, dipping in her flight path. The two beings on the ground looked up as she flew off, heading much more quickly to the train station.

"She's right. We'd better hurry." Fluttershy started into a trot. Her saddlebags bounced on her back. Foxy followed swiftly after, easily matching pace with her.

Twilight was waiting at the boarding platform, waiting patiently for any more of her friends. Rainbow's multicolored tail vanished in the doors of the train. Twilight's gaze lit up as she saw the two walking towards her.

"Oh, Fluttershy, you got Foxy, that's great. Sorry I had to leave earlier, Spike wanted to get a few snacks to make before we left," Twilight said as she trotted over to meet them.

"That's fine. What time does the train leave?" the pegasus asked.

"In about five minutes. Everypony's already in there. You two are the last."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Let's just get on before they leave, huh?" Twilight took the lead, talking over her shoulder as she started going faster. The three clambered onto the train. The conductor gave Foxy an odd glance, but didn't object. After all, business was business. Though Foxy had to duck to fit under the doorway.

"Bonsoir, darlings. Great to see you're here," Rarity greeted from her top bunk.

"Eeyup," came Applejack's voice from another car. She appeared in the doorway.

Rainbow Dash was spread over a pegasus bed. This kind had no ladders, so naturally, only pegasi could get to them. Sleeping higher up tended to help them relax. The pegasus leaned over the edge of her bunk.

"Good to see you didn't get left behind," she remarked snidely.

"Now that everyone's here, do we all have beds? Even with new steam engines, the trip will still take over a day," Twilight said.

"Here, Foxy, you can take this one," Pinkie Pie quickly announced, pointing to the bed across from her. Foxy raised an eyebrow, but dipped under the edge.

"I think I'm too big fer this," Foxy said simply from his somewhat awkward position sitting on the bed.

"Take a pegasus one. They're larger," Dash commented idly, waving a hoof in the air as she rolled over.

"Now, Dash, that's ridiculous. All the beds are the sa—" Rarity stopped in midsentence as she stood up on her hind legs to get a better look. "Good heavens! How come pegasi get such exquisite beds?!"

"'cuz we're awesome?"

Rarity gasped dramatically. "This is so no fair!"

Fluttershy frowned from her bunk across from Dash's. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Rarity sighed breathlessly. "Don't be."

* * *

><p>Rarity trotted back into the main car, looking nearly offended. "I cannot believe that Applejack is letting the <em>tree<em> have the private car. I need my beauty sleep!"

"You're already beautiful, Rarity!" Pinkie Pie declared.

"Well, thank you, darling, but I'm afraid I'll be waking up with bags under my eyes."

"Why would you keep bags under your eyes?"

". . ."

* * *

><p>"Would you all be QUIET. . . NOOOOW!?"<p>

The ponies let out a few exclamations at Rarity's scream (not to mention her face) and dove back into their beds. Foxy actually managed to not hit his bed getting into his, his first time actually achieving that. The fashionista up in her bunk sighed and was heard snuggling back into her blankets.

"Geez . . ." There was Rainbow's sigh.

* * *

><p>Foxy was awoken by a large jolt. He flew out of his small bed, landing with a crash of metal on the floor. The other mares let out screams of surprise as they as well were tossed about. They all managed to become tangled in one large ball as the train car rocked back and forth.<p>

"Gah! What's happening?" Twilight exclaimed.

Rainbow Dash managed to escape their ball of doom and smashed against the window. Buffalo surrounded the train.

"It's buffalo!" the pegasus announced in surprise. She looked up as she heard hooves pattering on the roof. She narrowed her eyes and zoomed to the train car door, vanishing into the early morning light.

"W-why are buffalo attacking the train?" Fluttershy whimpered, also hovering now as the massive banging stopped.

"Look!" Pinkie screeched, pointing at the swinging door. Through it, they saw the train car containing Bloomberg heading down the opposite way.

Applejack gasped. "They've got Bloomberg!"

"Heeeelp!" came a distant yell. In the window of the train car, they saw Spike's face pop up.

Twilight's eyes widened even more. "And Spike!" They heard another shout for help before the train car vanished for good, lost in the background.

Pinkie Pie, while the others were fretting, was devising a plan of her own. She hooked Foxy around the waist, sprang to the other side of the train car where another door was, and kicked it open.

Foxy blinked, not sure how he got to the other side so fast. "Pin—"

"Let's go!" Pinkie declared, throwing him out. Foxy didn't have time to stop himself as he was hurled out, and the party pony followed with a 'whee'!

* * *

><p>"Come on, wake up! It's no fun if you lay here while I search for Spike on my own!"<p>

Foxy mumbled something and sat up, joints creaking. He rubbed his head. The feeling of sand in his metal made him give a quick shudder.

"P-Pinkie? Why in the world did ye throw me out the train car?"

"Because you're going to help me find Spike and Dashie! You're fast, so we can get there faster!" Pinkie said like it was obvious.

Foxy blinked, tilting his head. "I'm all fer helpin' ye, but couldn't ye 'ave warned me?" he asked.

"Then the others would have objected! No, we needed to go quietly."

"Fine. Let's go. They went that way, right?" Foxy pointed towards the train tracks in the distance.

"Yep! Now let's go!" She started off in a bounce.

* * *

><p>"Ooh, I can't <em>wait<em> to get my hooves on that little buffalo . . . Hnnh . . . Ow! Nobody tricks Rainbow Dash and gets away with it."

The pegasus crept forward a few paces before stopping.

"Foxy?"

The metal pirate fell out from behind the nearby rock. Pinkie Pie followed immediately after in a tumble, splayed across Foxy's back.

"Aw, man! Foxy, you gave us away!" Pinkie whined.

Rainbow blinked. "What?"

"Uh, nothing." She sprang to her hooves. Foxy wobbly got to his feet. Rainbow quickly yanked him back down, as he towered above the rocks.

"Stay down. We've got to keep hidden." She sighed. "What are you two doing here anyways?"

"We're looking for Spike!"

"You two should go. The more of us there are out here, the more chances of us getting . . . caught." Dash trailed off as she stood up fully, realizing they were completely surrounded. Pinkie stood taller, but as Foxy rose to his full height, he was met with shrieks from the buffalo.

"What is that?!" one shouted in horror.

"Predator! The ponies have brought a predator! Kill it!" another bellowed.

Foxy looked around in shock as all the buffalo took a step closer. Suddenly, Spike broke through the ranks.

"Stop! Dash, Pinkie, Foxy, 'sup? Hey, no worries I know those guys. They're cool," the little dragon said smoothly.

A nearby buffalo ground his hoof into the dirt. "By law, the predator is not allowed to live. For the safety of the herd, it must be destroyed."

Spike frowned. "C'mon, fellas. We can come to an agreement, can't we?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, Foxy wouldn't hurt a fly! Well, actually . . ." Pinkie trailed off, tapping her chin in thought. "He doesn't eat buffalo! In fact, he doesn't even eat at all, now that I think about it!"

"There is no exception to the law," the buffalo argued stubbornly.

Rainbow frowned. "We aren't leaving Foxy behind, so I suggest you back off. He's coming with us." She took an intimidating step forward. The buffalos strengthened their ranks, forming a tighter circle.

"Oh come on! Foxy's coming with us! You wouldn't want to disrespect me, would you?" Spike growled in a fake manner.

The leading buffalo faltered. "W-well . . . no," he sighed. "Fine. But it can't walk free."

Rainbow narrowed her eyes. "And what do you mean by that?"

* * *

><p>"Gah! Careful with the joint there, buddy," Foxy snarled angrily. He was bound by his feet and arms, the final knot being tied around his wrists. The same buffalo that had been doing the tying bowed his head and thrust it forward, scooping the pirate up and launching him skywards. He landed on his stomach sideways over the back of the carrier buffalo. "Fazbear, this is humilatin'."<p>

"Sorry, dude," Dash said with a shrug.

"I'll try and talk to the chief about it," Spike added.

Foxy's perch wobbled as the group started off. He flicked his tail in agitation. "This is so stupid. Bein' carried by a bunch 'a idiotic beasts." The buffalo snorted and dropped suddenly, bending its knees. Foxy let out a small exclamation of surprise before grumbling and snorting. The buffalo, however, seemed rather amused.

* * *

><p>"Uhh, okay then," Twilight said simply, her confusion plain to see. Foxy was dropped in front of her like a sack of bricks, while Rainbow Dash hovered in the sky and Pinkie Pie bounced happily nearby.<p>

"Predators are usually not allowed to live. You should be thankful," Little Strongheart murmured. She didn't have a problem with the pirate, though she was still a bit uneasy around him as he was still taller than all the buffalo.

"Um, well, thanks for not . . . injuring him."

"Yes, darling, that's quite nice. Um, so, what now?" Rarity asked.

* * *

><p>"We may be divided<p>

But of you all, I beg

To remember we're all hoofed

At the end of each leg

No matter what the issue

Come from wherever you please

All this fighting gets you nothing

But hoof and mouth disease

Arguing's not the way

Hey, come out and play!

It's a shiny, new day

So, what do you say?

You gotta share

You gotta care

It's the right thing to do

You gotta share

You gotta care

And there'll always be a way through

Both our diets, I should mention

Are completely vegetarian

We all eat hay and oats

Why be at each other's throat?

You gotta share

You gotta care

It's the right thing to do

And there'll always be a way

Throoooough!"

_Welp, that was certainly somethin'._

"All right, Pinkie Pie! That was FANTASTIC! What a great song! Yeah, you were right on!" Spike cheered happily, applauding. The party pony bowed several times, a smile on her face. As the disses came (for what reason, I don't understand! Like, seriously, out of nowhere. WHY, YOU EVIL PONIES, WHY?!), the proud smile became a sad frown of defeat. Her eyes became downcast, and her shoulders slumped.

"An' we Appleloosans say you'd better bring yer best, 'cause we'll be ready and waitin'," Sheriff Silverstar growled back.

Braeburn grimaced. "But, Sheriff . . ."

Pinkie Pie whimpered, "Oh . . . That wasn't the message of my song at all . . ."

* * *

><p>The buffalo charged. A wild battle cry sounded through the air. Ponies whooped and got their pies ready for action. Foxy was sitting behind a hay bale with Pinkie, who'd popped up next to him after her defeat during the charge.<p>

"I don't want to fight," the party pony whined in misery.

"Me neither. They already hate me," Foxy muttered with a roll of his golden eyes.

"Hopefully this is over rapidly," Rarity said, approaching them.

"Aye."

"And . . . it's over," Twilight deadpanned, coming over as well.

"Apple pies, of course," Rainbow Dash mumbled, dropping in from the sky.

"At least nopony got hurt," Fluttershy added as she appeared from behind a cloud.

"Those poor apples!" Applejack cried in grief, putting her hat over her chest, head down.

Foxy paused. "Wow."

* * *

><p><em>"Dear Princess Celestia, friendship is a wondrous and powerful thing. Even the worst of enemies can become friends. You need understanding and compromise. You've got to share. You've got to care."<em>

"So, ye write these letters ta your princess every time ye learn somethin' 'bout friendship?" Foxy asked.

"Yep," Twilight responded cheerily. The swirl of green in the background signified that the letter was sent thanks to Spike.

"Gay."

"Shut up!"

**Author's Note:**

So . . . yeah. Things seem bad, but it'll all be okay. And now in every chapter, we'll be going through an episode. But not all, only the ones I think would work well. If you have a suggestion, leave it in the comments!

Also I am not making fun of homosexuals in the last part.

Bye.


	13. Grand Galloping Distaster

"Foxy, you're putting this tux on even if I have to break every limb in your body to do so!"

"Arr, I ain't wearin' no tux!"

Rarity grunted in effort as her horn brightly sparked. Foxy was currently trying to run away, but her magic was just barely holding him back.

"We're going to the Grand Galloping Gala! You're lucky you get to come, it's a huge event! And you're not going with nothing on!" Rarity screeched back.

"Why do I have ta come?! I'll be so outta place!" Foxy retorted, grabbing onto a nearby doorframe. Rarity tugged harder, putting her last amount of magical strength into her horn. With a large exhale, her horn died down and Foxy sprinted out of her store.

"Foxy!" She took a deep breath. "Get back here!"

Rainbow Dash appeared in her window. "What's with all the yelling? I'm trying to get a nap in."

Rarity turned to the pegasus. "Foxy is being a stubborn little brat, _that's_ what!" She stomped a polished hoof, rubbing her horn softly.

"Oh, is that all?"

Rarity huffed and straightened up. "Would you be a dear and go get the other girls? We should really get dressed. And make sure Twilight gets Foxy, se vous plait?"

Dash saluted. "On it." She flipped around and took off into the sky.

* * *

><p>"Please, dear, just put the suit on! We don't have all day," Rarity continued to plead. In her magical grip was the suit she'd made a few days earlier. The mares and Spike were all dressed, waiting in the other room, and the stallions were waiting outside to bring them to Canterlot.<p>

"Urg, but I don't wanna," Foxy whined, much like a child would. Rarity sighed. Dealing with a ten foot tall seven year old wasn't very high on her to-do list.

"Now, now, darling, this Gala is a very big deal. Maybe you'll make some friends or something. Explore a bit. The castle is a wondrous place." She smiled gently. "I'm sure you'll have a ton of fun if you give it a try. Besides, the girls and I would very much like you to come."

"Mmm, f'ne," he sighed in defeat, slumping down. Rarity perked up.

"Alright, let's just get you changed! Follow me behind the curtain, it's just back here-!"

* * *

><p>Chica was staring at Pirate's Cove. The partly drawn curtains revealed nothing but darkness. She blinked and walked forward, clambering onto the stage. She vanished behind the curtains. The cracked and damaged ship that sat in the center was covered in dust, and as she ran her metal hand over it, she couldn't help but give a sad sigh.<p>

"Chica?"

The animatronic turned around. Freddy stood there, watching her.

"Oh, uh, hiyah, Freddy," Chica said.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked as he stepped onstage.

"Just, you know, reminiscing."

Freddy paused. "We're going to get him back. Don't worry."

"You don't know that," Chica retorted sharply. "It's been over a week. Mike knows nothing._ We_ know nothing. How are we possibly going to find Foxy?"

"Uh . . ."

Chica glared at Freddy. She then stalked past him, off the stage.

* * *

><p>"Tada! Mwah, tout simplement fabuleux!" Rarity declared, her voice joyful.<p>

"Oh, wow! Looks great!"

"Coolio-mazing!"

"Mighty impressive!"

"Awesome!"

"I love it . . ."

The mares stood around Foxy as Rarity added the finishing details to his attire. A tape measurer, hairspray, and a brush hovered around and moved in quick, agile movements around Foxy's head and body. He flinched away from these, only to have one jerk around and get a swift brush or spray right where he'd moved to.

"Now, Foxy, just stop moving, and we'd get this done a lot quicker," Rarity said after a minute of this. She sighed, stopping. "Alright, I'm done anyways." She cooed. "Aw, don't you look handsome."

Foxy wrinkled his snout. "Arr, don't say that."

Pinkie Pie appeared over his shoulder. "But it's totally true!"

"Pinkie, get off him! You're going to wrinkle his suit," Rarity admonished. "And your dress, now that I think about it. Shoo, shoo."

Foxy was clad in a black suit (tailored to his body type and size, obviously) with a white undershirt and golden tie that was pinned to his suit with a clip. Rarity had gone with the slightly more casual look with it, and decided it fit him better than a more formal attire. Along with that, there were three clip-on earrings on one of his ears; golden hoops that got progressively smaller. The unicorn straightened out his tie and admired her work more closely.

"J'adore cela! Everything's prefect! Come along, ladies and gentlemen, we've got a carriage ride ahead of us~"

* * *

><p>"I can't believe we're finally here. With all that we've imagined, the reality of this night is sure to make this . . ."<p>

"The best night ever!"

Foxy paused as the mares burst into song. He glanced at Spike.

"This happen often?"

Spike shrugged. "Just let it happen." So they waited. (Blah, blah, blah)

"Yeah! This _is_ gonna be the best night ever. You know why? Cause we're all gonna spend time at the Gala to . . . gether. Or not," Spike deadpanned as he realized he was alone. Even Foxy had vanished, taken by one of the mane six. "Great."

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed, her magic tugging Foxy along behind her.

"Twilight! It is so lovely to see my star student. And Foxy, how are you? I've heard things are getting better," Celestia greeted, a warm smile on her face.

"Aye, they be fine," Foxy said.

"That's good to hear." She glowed.

"Oh, I'm so excited to be here! We have so much to catch up on," Twilight interjected, her excitement catching up. The princess looked down.

"Well, I want you right by my side the entire evening, so we'll have plenty of time together," Celestia said happily. "Foxy, you can go pretty much wherever you want during the Gala. And I also notice you're dressed very sharply. Rarity?"

"Aye."

Celestia gave a chuff of amusement. "Yes, of course she'd want you to look nice. Why don't you go explore the Gala? The gardens are beautiful this time of year."

"Ooh, Princess, can I tell you about . . ." Twilight started quickly. Celestia turned her attention away from the pirate to her student.

Foxy nodded, turning around as he realized he'd been kicked out. He flicked his tail idly as he began to wander away. As he did so, he felt a prickle of unease run down his spine. It wasn't all from nervousness, however. He'd been ignoring his urges to go on roaming mode for a while now, at least three weeks, and it was getting harder to not switch off.

**You can't stop it forever, you know. It'll get you sooner or later.**

Foxy continued walking.

_The feeling of dread you get every night, I can sense it now. The moon is in the sky, and stars are shining . . . ponies fill the area. And guess what? None of them are in their suits._

_I thought ye were jus' blamin' me; now ye're tryin' ta get me ta go psycho?_

**Just tempting you. It'll give you more reason to throw yourself off a cliff into a river.**

_Nice sentiment._

Foxy strolled out into the main lawn area, where most of the ponies were. And almost immediately, the eyes of at least a dozen ponies were on him. Foxy faltered momentarily, then resumed his walk to the gardens. Whispering spread throughout the crowd as more and more ponies took notice of him. His ears tucked against his head as he quickened his pace.

_I knew this was a bad idea._

Foxy sighed in relief as soon as he was out of the view of the crowd. He slumped his shoulders, continuing through the large and rather extravagant garden. The details of it quickly took his attention and he lifted his head to look.

_Hmm, I can see why Fluttershy wanted ta come._

A species of bird he didn't recognize flittered over his head. Foxy allowed a small smile onto his face. Bushes filled with vibrant flowers of every shape and size grew along the path on which he walked. A trail of ducklings emerged from the leaves on one side, waddling across the trail.

"Aha!"

Foxy stumbled as something ran into him. He looked down. Fluttershy was on her back, face screwed up as her vision went double.

"Arr, lass, my apologies," Foxy said, picking her up and placing her back on her hooves.

"O-oh, no, it was my fault. I was too excited about getting to the animals," the pegasus admitted. She blinked and looked down.

"What's the matter?"

"It's just that the animals won't let me near them. I keep scaring them, the poor little dears . . ."

Foxy tilted his head. "Well, I'm sure they'll come 'round. Jus', uh, keep tryin'."

"I guess you're right." Fluttershy glanced around. "Ooh, there's a wallaroo!" She took off in a blur.

* * *

><p>After the gardens started to get boring, Foxy worked up the courage to go back to the palace yards. Deciding to check out how well Applejack was doing with her sales, mostly because he didn't have anywhere else to go, Foxy started in that direction. Once again, ponies whispered. There was a ten foot radius around him, but he decided to ignore it.<p>

"Uh, excuse me!" a voice called from behind him.

Foxy turned around. A white stallion and tall mare were standing there, gazing up at him.

"Yes, hello!" the stallion continued.

Foxy hesitated. "Ahoy?"

"Sorry to bother you, it's just, when I heard there was a fox in a tux walking around, I couldn't resist tracking you down." The stallion chuckled. "Though you weren't very hard to, if you'll forgive me."

Foxy shrugged. "Tis okay."

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Fancy Pants and this is my wife, Fleur Dis Lee. I was once a scientist, if you can believe me. I've heard a selection of rumors from Ponyville about what I can only presume is you, since you're a robot pirate."

Foxy shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Aye, that's me."

Fancy Pants maintained the polite smile on his face. Fleur Dis Lee was randomly striking poses and pretty much flinging herself all over her husband's back. He didn't seem to even register she was there.

"I know Equestria has been making large leaps forward in the fields of science and mechanics, and I'd just like to say how incredible it is we could make something like you in a short amount of time! Who built you, I'd like to know," Fancy Pants said.

Foxy couldn't just say he came here from another world, so he lied. "Twilight Sparkle." She was probably the only one who could've done it, anyhow. She was a smart pony.

Fancy looked surprised. "I always knew she was a smart mare! I must congratulate her. Especially since you seem to have a mind of your own. I hope I'm not offending you with any of this. Your programming must be extraordinary to actually be able to respond to me."

Fleur Dis Lee finally stood straight. "Husband, dear, Princess Luna is coming. We should greet her." Indeed, the lunar goddess was soaring down from the sky.

Fancy looked towards his wife. "Of course, darling." He glanced towards Foxy. "It was nice to exchange words with you. I shall have to congratulate Twilight on her brilliance."

"Au revoir!" Fleur called smoothly as the couple turned their backs.

Foxy stood still for a couple for moments, surprised. He didn't freeze up at all during that. Ponies were stealing glances in his direction, now wondering if they should converse like Fancy Pants did. Foxy shrugged and turned to find Applejack. Around a corner, along a path, he found her stand. She looked bored as heck, but perked up when she saw Foxy approaching her.

"Howdy, Foxy! What brings ya over here?" the southern mare asked.

"What do ye ponies do here? It's not very excitin'," Foxy said, frowning.

"Well, I don't reckon Ah do know. It's mah first time here too."

"Hmm. So how's business?"

Applejack sighed. "Not very good. Ah've gotten one sale. Rarity and her date were over here earlier, but he was . . . a hay-hidden shower-bag, as they say in France." She gave a small giggle. "Rarity told me that one." She cracked up, and Foxy grinned. "Say, where ya headin' off to now?"

"Dunno. Wander, I suppose."

Applejack tapped her chin. "Hmm, Ah ain't got any ideas for ya."

Foxy sighed. "Guess I'll go see what Pinkie's doin'." He turned away.

"Right! See ya later!" AJ waved a hoof, going back to being bored.

* * *

><p>Pinkie Pie spotted Foxy immediately and raced over to him.<p>

"Foxy! Just the robot I wanted to see!" the party mare cheered. "Come on, we've gotta get these ponies into the spirit! The _party_ spirit!" With a giggle, she bounced off towards the stage. Foxy quickly followed after.

"Come on, everypony!" Pinkie yelled, a tune beginning to play. "Stage dive! Foxy, catch me!" She dove off the stage, right onto the unsuspecting crowd. Foxy jumped back in surprise, but caught himself. He threw his body weight forward, leaping ahead as the rest of the ponies sprang back. Pinkie was blissfully unaware of her incoming smash into the floor, but Foxy was almost there . . .

Until he tripped.

His foot caught on a random mare's dress and he tumbled. He went down, momentum throwing him forward. By what was perhaps a miracle, Pinkie landed on his upturned feet.

"Okay, all you high-class ponies. Here's a highfalutin apple cake for your hoity-toity taste buds," Applejack's voice sounded from behind them. A cake was rolled in, unfortunately right behind the action going on. There was an exclamation as Applejack lost the pastry and it went flying.

Pinkie Pie giggled in giddiness as Foxy caught himself and launched her backwards, sending her flying skywards. She had her eyes shut, arms up in the air. Foxy rolled back onto his feet, quickly putting his arms up.

**Good idea, stab her with your hook!**

_Ah, crap!_

Foxy put one arm down and readied his hand. Pinkie dropped back down and was ensnared in his grasp by one of her arms. She dangled there, a foot or two off the floor.

"Woo! Again, again!" the pink mare cheered. She wiggled in his grasp, and then was dropped the rest of the way onto the floor. Pinkie started bouncing. "That was awesome!"

"You, sir, are the most _uncharming_ prince I have _ever met!_ In fact, the only thing royal about you is that you are a _royal pain!_" Rarity's shout came after a collective gasp. The white unicorn approached Blueblood, her anger fueled by the cake.

Rainbow Dash flew forward like a bullet. Columns toppled like dominoes. Ponies screamed in horror. All of this happened in the timeframe of a minute.

Princess Celestia and Twilight appeared in the door. Their faces mirrored one another's, the expression incredulous.

"Well . . . it can't get any worse," Twilight said.

The doors on the other side of the room busted open. Animals of all kinds fled in terror. Fluttershy appeared through the cloud of dust, breathing heavily.

"You're . . . going to _LOVE ME!_" the pegasus screeched.

Foxy was watching this from behind a felled pillar. He was about to step forward, but stopped.

**It's time!** Dark laughing filled his mind and Foxy gripped at his head, a growl coming from his throat. When he lifted his head, his eyes were glowing brightly.

_They're not wearin' their suits!_

"Foxy? What are you—AHH!" Rarity screamed in terror as the pirate grabbed her by the collar of her dress and lifted her off the floor. She kicked in his grasp, only managing to hit him a few times in the chest.

"What do we have here—here?" Foxy snarled, voice breaking and repeating.

"Help!" the unicorn screeched again.

"Foxy! Put her down!" Princess Celestia demanded.

Foxy's head turned swiftly to the princess. He dropped Rarity roughly and stalked forward, ready to attack. Without further notice, he lunged forward quickly and tackled the solar goddess to the floor. Celestia used her magic to keep his snapping jaws away from her face, and fired up a keep-away spell. A layer of golden magic appeared over her body and Foxy was immediately thrown backwards. He regained his balance and snarled.

"Run," Celestia said to her student. Twilight nodded and brought her hoof up to her mouth, whistling. The mares sprinted towards her, and the group retreated.

"Foxy, what are you doing?" the sovereign asked levelly.

"Ye aren't in your suit," Foxy growled in a frightening voice.

Celestia narrowed her eyes. Destroying him wouldn't solve anything, so she thought of another plan. A bright beam shot from her horn to the celling. A large structure formed and then dropped suddenly. It was a magical cage, but Foxy leaped out of the way.

"I can easily defeat you. What are you trying to accomplish?" Celestia asked. Foxy didn't answer, but instead just grinned at her, showing his sharp teeth.

_Hmm. What's the meaning of this?_ Celestia paused._ Perhaps my student has not told me everything._

The princess lit her horn again and a large net-like structure flew towards him. Foxy sprang backwards, but the net ensnared him. He snarled, kicking and clawing at his prison. The connection to Celestia's horn broke and she approached him cautiously.

"I am sorry, but—"

The magical trap exploded into dust and Foxy leapt to his feet, jaw open as he dove at the princess's head. She gasped in shock as blood welled in her neck from his bite. Her horn lit on instinct and he was forced backwards.

_How did he break that?!_

Princess Celestia backed away, trying to blink the blood out of her eyes. They weren't deep; no, she'd been too fast to have his teeth dig into her flesh. They were simply puncture wounds, though the head injury part made them bleed faster.

"Whatever has taken over you, you must control it," Celestia said. She used a wing to wipe some of the blood from her neck and face, flicking the wingtips to rid it from her feathers.

"Nothin's taken control 'a me!" Foxy argued, a sinister grin on his muzzle. "I've always been like this!"

Celestia frowned. An idea formed in her head, and she decided to go with it. The spell was simple (for her, anyway) and caused no harm. She opened her wings fully and flew back, golden light enveloping her horn. She closed her eyes and took the shot. A far-reaching bolt of energy flowed downwards, enveloping the entire room. The light began to die down quickly.

"And there we go," Celestia said, hooves toughing down. She walked forward, eyes searching for her prize. A jar appeared in her magical grip and she levitated something from the floor. It struggled in her magic but she easily deposited it in the glass jar. A one inch version of Foxy pounded on the glass. It was like someone tapping it with a needle, and Celestia smirked.

"Sorry, but you'll grow again. I shall give you to Twilight, and perhaps I shall get an answer for your behavior."

* * *

><p>"Princess!" Twilight's horrified cry sounded.<p>

The solar sovereign hadn't even bothered to wash off, so blood trails were apparent on her face and neck, even down to her long legs. She, however, had a smile on her face. She lowered something onto the table around which they were all gathered.

"Before you panic, I'm fine. Here is your robot friend," Celestia said. The ponies looked in the jar.

"B-but Princess, what happened?"

"Foxy attacked me—you saw it, my student."

Twilight gaped. "I saw Foxy tackle you! Not bite your face!"

"Well, yes, but that happened after you left. Somehow, he broke my magical force. He managed to graze me. Went from my ears to my neck. However, I am fine, I assure you."

"What about the injuries on your side?" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing. Celestia flipped up a wing and saw a long scratch down her left side.

"Oh, his hook must've gotten me. I didn't even notice," the princess mused. She put her wing back down. "I would like an explanation for his actions before you all worry about me, however." Her face became one of seriousness. The mares and Spike looked away, ashamed.

"Twilight, what happened?"

The violet mare gulped and shrank away from her mentor's burning gaze.

* * *

><p>Celestia sighed. She shook her head. "I am disappointed you would not tell me. But I hope you realize how dangerous it is to keep secrets. Foxy has definitely learnt that lesson—several times over, if your story is correct. Though he seems not to think over the consequences." She eyed the snarling and biting pirate inside the jar. "He shall return to his full size in ten hours. Thankfully, he'll be out of his 'roaming mode' then."<p>

Twilight nodded. "I'm sorry, Princess."

Celestia nuzzled her student. "It's fine. I'm not mad. I shall tell Luna as well, so she is informed of the circumstances."

"Okay."

Celestia began to head for the door. "I must return to the castle. See you all next time."

**Author's Note:**

I got a review that said Foxy was under powered!? So, of course, I had to make it right. *evil laugh* But Celestia is not under powered either in this chapter, so keep that in mind. And sorry, you won't get much of the other animatronics until they're relevant again. There's just no place for them right now.


	14. Ideas

The first thing Foxy noticed was that he felt sick. Like physically unwell. Could robots feel sick? He didn't know.

The second thing he noticed was that he didn't know where he was. Everything was blurry (though it might have been a side effect of this feeling he was getting). Foxy shook his head and clumsily got to his feet. He was back in his regular outfit of just his brown shorts.

"Uh, ahoy? Anyone there?" he called to nowhere in particular. Suddenly, something appeared in his sight. He leaped backwards.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" Twilight pronounced. Foxy blinked, wondering why he felt so small . . .

"What the—what?!" he yelled as Twilight levitated him out of the jar. He was approximately the size of half of her eye. (Seriously those ponies have big eyes)

"Princess Celestia shrunk you to avoid destroying you. Be thankful she didn't. You attacked her." Twilight set him on the table and sat down on the floor. He face portrayed anger and a tone of seriousness. "Now, I want you to tell me—why didn't you tell me you had to go on roaming mode earlier?"

Foxy shifted in discomfort, scraping his foot against the wood. He glanced away, shamefaced.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "This is serious. You seemed just fine without it, so I ignored it. Do you really need to use that?"

"W-well, I mean, I went so long without it, I guess, s-so—"

"Don't avoid the question."

Foxy sighed. "We all have ta use roamin' mode sometime or another. I managed ta keep mine off 'til the Gala—I couldn't stop it."

"I see," Twilight said, standing up. "I'll have to organize a way to allow you to switch to roaming mode without harming anyone. You're strong, so that'll be difficult." She hummed to herself. "I'll get to work on that. Anyways, Fluttershy is coming to pick you up."

Foxy raised an eyebrow. "Pickin' me up?"

"Yep." Twilight frowned. "Sorry, but I'm going to need to work, and maybe it'd be best if you stayed out at her cottage anyways. That way, if you lose control, you can run off. Fluttershy's tougher than she looks."

"Oh, well, I guess I don't care. She's a nice lass." He was reminded of his tininess as Twilight moved forward, her shadow falling over him. "And am I gon' get bigger?"

Twilight blinked. "Oh, yes, you are. In about four hours, so it won't be long."

Knocks sounded at the door. Twilight turned her head. "Oh, that must be Fluttershy."

"Hello, Twilight," the pegasus' voice came from the slowly opening door.

"Hi! Everything's all set, and he's right over here," Twilight replied. Fluttershy appeared in the doorway, then trotted over.

"O-oh, hi, Foxy." She tried a weak smile and scuffed her hoof against the floor, looking away. "Um, s-so Twilight, should I just-?"

Twilight smiled gently at her friend. "Relax, 'shy. It's just Foxy."

"Aye, and I completely understand if ye are . . . 'fraid 'a me," the pirate finished in a murmur.

Fluttershy frowned. "No, no, I'm sorry. I'm just a bit . . . on edge, from yesterday night." She straightened up. "Okay, so, uh, do you want to head off now?"

Twilight looked between the two of them. "You can. I should get to work, uh, _fixing _some things . . ."

Fluttershy nodded. "Of course. Come on, Foxy." She stuck out her wing level to the table so he could clamber onto her back. Foxy padded forward and over her soft yet steady wing. "When do you want him back?"

"I'll get you when I think I've figured it out," Twilight said as she headed towards her lab.

"O-okay then. See you—"

The door slammed, cutting Fluttershy's connection with her friend.

"Okay . . ."

* * *

><p>Luna paced her royal chambers. Her face portrayed indecisiveness as she did so. The stomp of her silver slippers was much more aggressive than usual, and the agitation written across her face showed. Eventually, her anger became more pronounced and her horn lit. The chair at her desk no longer resembled a chair, instead now a smoldering pile of ash.<p>

"Angry, sister?"

Luna spun around. Celestia walked smoothly forward from where she'd been standing at the large doors.

"Why are you not agitated? You were the one attacked," Luna said angrily.

"It was not his intention to do me harm. He was not in control," Celestia replied evenly. "I have been healed for quite a while now. No real damage was accomplished."

Luna snorted, rolling her eyes lowly. "Maybe so, but that is no reason to let this idly by. We must act!"

"Act on what principles? What could we possibly do? Luna, sister, you're the one that brought Foxy here to Equestria." Celestia tilted her head.

"I know! But something has caused him to be like this. One wouldn't go around murdering for the sake of getting their circuits to relax." Luna's gaze was dark.

Celestia hummed. "Perhaps you are right. But please, don't do anything irrational."

Luna scoffed. "Me? Irrational?!"

"Yes, though I am sorry to say it," Princess Celestia responded. She huffed in a small sign of amusement. She studied her sister's facial expression. "Oh dear, what _are_ you planning?"

Luna looked surprised, her contemplative air vanishing in a split second.

"What? I'm not planning anything," the lunar sovereign said with a kick of her hoof. Celestia narrowed her eyes. She then turned around, regally padding back towards the doors.

"Remember this, dear Luna: that you might end up somewhere where you don't belong—literally."

* * *

><p>Fluttershy yawned, spreading her wings. It was getting close to the time for the moon to come out, and with all the stress lately, she needed as much sleep as she could. The pegasus was lying across her couch, front hooves crossed. Foxy was already sleeping on her chair, his head thrown back and mouth open. Fluttershy was surprised he was sleeping at this early time, but she wasn't sure how his sleep cycles worked—or anything worked, for that matter.<p>

Fluttershy hummed to herself and twisted around, beginning to preen her wings. Proper care was required for pegasi to fly well—not to mention wings were much more attractive when preened.

"GAH!"

Fluttershy let out a muffled screech as she roughly tore out several long feathers. Her eyes blurred with tears. Blood welled up under the edges of her other feathers all around the sore area. She spit out the soft yellow plumes and blinked away her warm tears, though some escaped her ducts and slid down her cheeks. Fluttershy whimpered, then glanced over at the cause of her pain.

Foxy was twitching his leg, face contorted into one of pain and anger. His hand clenched into a tight fist.

Fluttershy blinked. She wobbly got to her hooves and shuffled over to his side. She ignored the stinging in her wing and stood over his resting form.

"Foxy?" the pegasus asked, placing a hoof on his arm. She was knocked back as his fist came at her in a swing. "Foxy, w-wake up now?!" Fluttershy squeaked as she was nearly swatted with his hand again. Suddenly, his foot swung around, and struck her in the side of the head. Her mane whipped across her vision and she went down.

Fluttershy sighed.

* * *

><p>A dark figure stalked through a dirty alley. A stray cat hissed at the form and leaped up to a windowsill, tail flicking in irritation. Two icy blue eyes watched it spring to its perch, and then a glow formed in the air, seemingly around a pair of hands. The flow streamed towards the cat and it meowed in surprise. A moment later, the straggly feline appeared well-fed and healthy.<p>

The dark hood covering the person's face whipped back, and it was revealed to be a young woman. Her hair shimmered in the darkness and seemed to be made out of water. Little sparkles twinkled in the fine hair.

Luna traipsed forward. Her bright eyes glanced back and forth, wary of any intrusions. Covering her body was a long cloak, and underneath, a tightfitting "spy outfit", as others would call it. Her wings were no longer visible, and neither was her horn, hence the reason for her hands being used to perform her magic.

"It must be somewhere around here . . ." the lunar goddess murmured to herself. She vanished in a flash of blue, transforming into a cloud of similar colored smoke. Her form shot over the rooftops, searching for her target.

_There it is._

Luna dove downwards, transforming back into her human illusion as she did so. The lights on the sign of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza were off, but she lived in the dark; her night vision exceeded her ability to see in the light. Though she hadn't known the name of the restaurant Foxy had worked at, she'd found it quite easily thanks to her magic.

Luna strode up to the doors. She gripped the handle just to check to see if it was locked. It was. The lunar princess vanished and appeared on the other side as not to trigger some sort of alarm if she were to unlock it. Once in, she checked for the animatronics. They weren't on stage. Luna looked about, then headed down a hallway. She remembered what she'd seen from the time spent in Foxy's memory bank and went from there.

Something was coming at her. Luna spun around in an instant, hands flashing in quick spurts of magic mixed with physical attacks, and whatever had been about to oppose her fell. Out cold on the floor was a young man. A pipe or something—Luna wasn't sure what it was—lay on the ground next to him.

"Hmm, I wonder what he was doing here." Luna bent down, cloak creeping into the shadows until it was gone. Her hand rolled him onto his back and she read his nametag which simply had "Mike." On his knocked off hat were the words "Night Watch."

"I am sorry, Mike," Luna said simply. She swiped his hat from the floor and stuck it on his head. She wondered why he was shaven—no hair at all, which was odd for humans—before she did so. Her arms scooped him up and she strode down the hall. Mike didn't move at all. Evidently she'd done a good job with the pressure points. Luna entered the room at the end of the hallway, which said 'SECURITY' on it. The large doors that were positioned on both sides worried the princess, but she merely raised an eyebrow and set the man down in the only chair in the room. On the table by his side was a square shaped item. Luna picked it up in curiosity.

"Hmm, what is this?" she asked herself. Her fingers tapped it, and it flashed to life. She blinked, bringing it away from her face. What was onscreen began to move.

* * *

><p>Chica peeked around the corner. Bonnie followed after, his head below hers, and then Freddy appeared over Chica.<p>

"Do you think Mike is okay?" Chica asked. "What do you think he saw?"

"I dunno," Bonnie replied, "but he hasn't come to get us."

"Maybe we should check on him."

"Why didn't we just go check whatever it was out in the first place? We're stronger than him," Freddy pointed out in irritation.

"He didn't want us to get stolen or anything like that. Remember, he's already in trouble," Chica said.

Bonnie winced. "What if it's the thing that took Foxy?"

"Foxy was glowing, remember?" Freddy added.

Chica huffed, coming out from the closet. "Come on, let's go check on him."

* * *

><p>Fluttershy ran a hoof over Foxy's head. She'd managed to calm him down after what had seemed like a nightmare.<p>

The pegasus ducked away after she was sure he was fine and padded off to her room. She still had some blood on her wing, but she didn't care as of right now.

"Mm, goodnight Angel," Fluttershy murmured to the fluffy white bunny already snoozing in his basket.

* * *

><p>Foxy shifted. His head pounded and he wasn't quite sure if it was real or not. He opened his eyes and was faced with Fluttershy's ceiling.<p>

"Gah, land sakes," Foxy hissed as he grabbed his head with his hand. He rolled over, falling out of the chair he'd been resting in. Sighing, he pushed himself up and looked around. The sky outside was dark, which meant Fluttershy was probably sleeping. There was no point in him going back into sleep mode, so he approached the door and pushed it open, ducking under the frame.

Foxy sullenly walked forward. His shoulders were slumped down. He wasn't sure why he was so depressed, but maybe it had something to do with the nightmare he'd just suffered—for the thousandth time.

_Kids all around, their faces full of cheer. Foxy recognized the room as Pirate's Cove. The edges of his vision were blurry and he felt the sensation of glitching. A bright flash of light._

_The same children, their faces full of not joy, but fear and terror. The limp body of the boy in front of him, blood splattered in a small radius around his feet._

_Screams. The sound of footsteps heading in the opposite direction, and the feeling of Zach pushing him back. Foxy's vision dimmed as his circuits locked. Even through the curtain, he could hear screaming and shouting. Police and ambulance sirens wailed in the background, their high-pitched whine getting closer._

_And through it all, the sound of a mother crying._

**Author's Note:**

Next chapter, you'll get *dramatic music* DISCORD! Plus, whatever is Luna doing? There's a ton of clues in this chapter as to what happens, so try and get them all.

Plus, I know I'll get at least one comment on this, so I better address it now:

hypocrite Celestia


	15. Chaos Eternal

"Angel. Angel? Angel, come back here!"

Foxy twisted his head around to look at the pegasus. She was standing just off the side, by her tulips as she fed her animals. Except she wasn't standing there anymore. Instead, she was bounding off after her pet bunny. Fluttershy opened her wings and leaped over her flower beds, taking to the air. Angel was scurrying away from the cottage in a blur of white.

"Lass? Do ye need-"

Foxy stopped as another dozen or so small rabbits and squirrels passed by him in a stampede. He raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in behavior, then started after them. He reached down and snagged two squirrels by their fluffy tails. They struggled and squeaked in indignation, but couldn't escape from his grasp. He tossed them back towards the cottage.

"Angel, what are you doing?!" Fluttershy yelled, voice distant. Foxy could see her yellow form up ahead. Applejack's farm was getting closer as well, barely being seen over the crest of a hill.

And as they came to the pinnacle of the hill, Fluttershy stopped. Foxy finally caught up to her and was met with quite a sight: popcorn flooded the land and pink clouds pouring brown rain filled the sky. The two could see Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie Pie down on the ground. Rainbow Dash was shooting around the sky, trying to calm the crazy weather.

"Oh dear! What's happening? Let's go!" Fluttershy exclaimed, taking off with a quick burst of speed. Foxy followed after, feet pounding on the ground. The creamy coated pegasus ran past the others to the squirrels that had shot up the trees. The apples were huge, bending the trunks.

"Fluttershy! Do somethin'!" Applejack shouted as the apples were devoured by the critters. Fluttershy held onto the bent trunk of a tree, her face one of surprise.

"Now, Angel, you really shouldn't—" Fluttershy stopped as the little bunny grew long, deer-like legs and ran off. She unfurled her wings. "No! It's not possible! I must be seeing things!" Her eyes gazed around in horror as more bunnies stampeded past her.

"Don't worry, everyone. I've learned a new spell that'll fix _everything_," Twilight stated as she levitated a book in front of her face. Her horn lit with magic and a bright wave was sent in every direction. Foxy felt it pass through him, getting the odd tingle that happened whenever magic was used on him.

"My fail-safe spell . . . _failed!_ What do we do?" Twilight asked in misery, her eyes wide.

"Uh, give up?" Spike suggested.

"How 'bout keep that rain 'way from me!" Foxy exclaimed as it started pouring right next to him, where he'd previously been safe. He backed away, ears down and snarling at the sugary clouds in the sky.

"Sorry, Foxy! There's just so many!" Rainbow Dash cried as she slammed into the group of clouds.

Rarity approached Foxy and held the umbrella from her outfit over his head. "I'm sure Twilight will come up with something."

In response, the unicorn tapped her chin in thought. "Hmm, time for plan B. Rainbow, can you corral all those clouds in one corner of the sky?"

The brash pegasus saluted and shot off to do her task. Once the large expanse of storm clouds were in a ball being contained by Dash swirling around them, Twilight turned to Applejack.

"Applejack, I need you to bring those high-strung storm clouds down to Earth."

AJ pulled out her rope, twirling the lasso in the air. She threw it up at the clouds and Rainbow zoomed away as not to be caught. Applejack pulled and the great ball of clouds was tugged away, making Pinkie Pie give an exclamation of indignation.

Twilight began whispering in Fluttershy's ear. The coy pegasus brightened and turned away.

_"Oh dear. I hope none of the animals see these _delicious _chocolate-filled cotton candy clouds. I'd hate to have to share them,"_Fluttershy said in a very enticing manner. The animals looked around and advanced quickly towards the sweet treat. Pinkie, once again, was robbed of her chocolate milk

"Hey!" the pony exclaimed.

Applejack trotted over to the group. "And when y'all are done with that, feel free to have some popcorn for dessert."

Foxy eyed the snacking animals cautiously. "What the heck is this all 'bout?"

Twilight shook her head. "I don't know. Something's happened." At that moment, Spike gave a loud belch and a letter was thrown from his mouth. Twilight lifted it up and unrolled it with her magic.

She gasped. "Come on, girls. Princess Celestia wants to see us all in Canterlot immediately!"

* * *

><p>"The Elements! They're gone!" Twilight cried as the group let out a collective gasp.<p>

Princess Celestia looked more shocked than any of them. "That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break! This doesn't make sense!" she declared as she paced.

A low chuckle reverberated through the room. "Make sense? Oh, what fun is there in making sense?"

"Discord . . ." Celestia said lowly. "Show yourself!"

Discord laughed once again. "Did you miss me, Celestia? I missed you." The stained-glass Discord began to move. "It's quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn't know that, would you, because _I don't turn ponies into stone."_

"Enough! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?"

"Oh, I just borrowed them for a teensy little while." Discord snapped, teleporting.

"You'll never get away with this, Discord!"

"Oh, I'd forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia. It's really quite _boring._"

Rainbow Dash flew forward. "Hey! Nopony insults the Princess!" She charged at the glass. Discord merely teleported away, leaving her to smash into the window.

"Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent," Discord said evenly as he grew larger.

"That's right! I'll _always _be loyal to the Princess!"

"We'll see about that."

Rarity scoffed, kicking her hoof and holding it to her chest. She closed her eyes and looked away. "I can't believe we're wasting our time talking to a tacky window."

Discord appeared by her. "The beautiful Rarity, representing the Element of Generosity, if I'm not mistaken?"

Applejack approached them. She rolled her eyes. "So you know who we are, big deal."

"Oh, I know much more than that, honest Applejack."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "You seem to know our strengths too."

Discord grinned. "Yes, Twilight Sparkle, and yours is the most powerful and elusive element, magic." He turned his focus to the other Elements. "Fluttershy's is kindness and Pinkie Pie's is a personal favorite of mine—laughter." He chuckled. "But I must say, I don't know what this is." His glass-self changed windows, directing his attention to Foxy, who'd remained silent for this.

"Yeah, of course you wouldn't know! Foxy's different," Rainbow said with an added glare at the chaos spirit.

"Foxy, huh? Interesting," Discord commented idly.

The pirate growled at the draconequus. "Aye, and ye better give 'em back their lil elements!"

Discord merely laughed. "And who are you to challenge me? You're just a piece of scrap metal."

Foxy bared his teeth. "I'll show ye scrap metal!" Fluttershy quickly flew forward and stopped his actions, putting her hooves on his chest.

Celestia stepped forward. "Stop stalling, Discord! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?"

Discord sighed, rolling his eyes in a dramatic fashion. "Oh, so boring, Celestia. Really? Fine, I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you _my way._" He vanished and then appeared much larger on three windows._ "To retrieve your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began." _With the final sentence, his stained-glass illusion stopped moving and his voice faded out with a series of dark laughs.

Foxy crossed his arms. "That landlubber is too cocky fer his own good."

Rainbow snickered. "Landlubber."

* * *

><p>A flash of magic and then Rainbow Dash yelling, "My wings!" as she plummeted to the earth. She fell on her back and gaped incredulously at her missing appendages. Soon after, Fluttershy squeaked in astonishment.<p>

Twilight and Rarity gaped at each other.

"Your horn! _My_ horn! Ahhh!" the mares screeched at the same time, followed by a thundering of hooves as they panicked.

Suddenly, above the group, there was a flash of light and hysterical laughing. Discord, in all his glory, floated above them.

"Haha! You–you should see the looks on your faces. Priceless!" he cackled, more laughter fizzing out of him as he wiped a tear.

Twilight snorted in anger. "Give us our wings and horns _back!_"

The chaotic spirit smirked. "You'll get them back in good time. I simply took them to ensure there's no cheating. You see, _this_ is the first rule of our game: no flying, and no magic." He ran a claw down the side of Twilight's face. "Which means, this robot over here, cannot help you." All eyes pointed to Foxy.

The fox reacted. "What?! I ain't got no magic in me at all!" He stuck his muzzle right into Discord's.

"Well, I suppose not, but rules are rules."

Rainbow stepped forward. "Wait, you said the _first_ rule."

Discord paused. "Oh yes, I did." He opened his mouth to say the rest, but then stopped. "The second rule is . . . everypony has to play or the game is over."

Foxy laughed. "Aha! Ye can't not let me play!"

Discord crossed his arms. "Yes, I suppose that's correct." He teleported over their heads. "Good luck, everypony!" he finished in a grand manner, vanishing with a laugh.

"Never fear, girls. We have each other!" Twilight declared.

"Yeah! Like Twilight said, there's nothing we can't overcome if we all stick together!" Rainbow Dash added.

"All right, let's do this!"

The ponies and Foxy lined up at the entrance to the labyrinth.

"Together!"

Screams filled the air as hedges came up behind and between everyone. Words of panic were exchanged in the chaos.

Twilight quickly took control. "Stay calm! Everypony head to the middle as fast as you can, and we'll regroup there!"

Dash took off. "Moving out!"

"See you in the center."

"Yee-haw!"

"See you guys there!"

"Arr, be on my way!"

"What's that? Who's there? Girls!"

* * *

><p>Luna carefully set the item back onto the desk. It was odd yet wonderful, this human technology. They could do oh so many things, but cause so much destruction at the same time.<p>

"Hmm?" the princess made a small noise of concern when her keen ears picked up movement behind her. Something moved in the darkness. The sound of something scraping lightly against the floor—walking, most likely. She focused her magic and she vanished from view, using her nonvisible wings to get to the high ceiling. Her eyes glowed momentarily before she became invisible.

A large head poked out from the door. It was a bright yellow.

"Mike!" Chica yelled, surging forward in a panic. She grabbed his chin and tilted his head up.

"What's happened?" Freddy asked, walking in.

"Something happened to Mike! He's in sleeping mode."

Freddy leaned in closer. "I don't understand."

Bonnie, who'd come in a few moments later, tilted his head. "He can't just fall asleep in a minute."

Luna sucked in her breath. One of Bonnie's ears was very close to poking her in the abdomen. They were much taller in person than she'd anticipated. She clung like a spider to the ceiling, just observing.

Chica patted Mike's cheeks a few times, trying to wake him gently. "Come on, Mikey, wakey wakey eggs and bacey." She yanked her hand back. "What the heck-?"

"What? What is it?" Bonnie asked.

"It's blood, I think," Chica responded, grimacing. She tilted his head up and saw a small cut under his ear.

"You know what this means, don't you? Mike was attacked!" Bonnie gasped in horror. "There's someone in the building."

The three animatronics exchanged glances.

"Well, we better take care of them, then," Freddy said in a menacing tone. His eyes darkened to black.

* * *

><p>Foxy slid around a sharp corner, smashing into the hedges. He grumbled and brushed several leaves from his fur. Walking a few more paces, the pirate came upon a dead-end.<p>

"What! I went every other way! There's no way this is the end!" Foxy exclaimed indignantly.

"Well, well, well, looks like you're useless once again," came a voice. Discord floated casually down from the sky as he admired his paw.

"Oi, ye better stop playin' tricks on me!" Foxy snarled, jabbing the spirit with his hook. Discord snorted and pushed the pirate away.

"I'm not playing any tricks. I'm being deadly serious."

Foxy glared. "Ye are jus' a trickster! Course you're bein' obnoxious."

"Oh, I wish that were the case." Discord hovered lazily around the fox. "But have you seen yourself lately? Why do the ponies keep you around?"

Foxy stumbled for words, and Discord pressed on.

"Is it pity? Empathy? Or do you actually think they're helping you get past what happened all those years ago?"

"H-how do ye know 'bout that?" Foxy stammered.

Discord waved a paw nonchalantly. "Please. I know all about your little pony pals, and I've been encased in stone for a millennium. Who says I can't know anything I want?"

"Knowledge is power."

Discord smirked at the old saying. "And knowing is half the battle."

Foxy felt his circuits draining.

_Why'm I so tired all 'a sudden?_

**Foxy, he's right! Come on, just turn darkside.**

_Tis not midnight yet . . ._

Foxy jerked out of his state. His power jumped back up to regular, and Discord moved back slightly, but just enough to be noticeable.

"I don't know what you're tryin' ta do, but I can tell ye, tis not goin' ta work!" Foxy declared.

Discord blinked. His mood darkened. "Yes, yes, of course it's not. But what am I trying, hmm?"

Foxy paused. "I-I dunno, but I already know it's somethin' no good."

"And why does it have to be midnight? Why can't it be now?" came the sudden question.

Foxy stopped, surprised. A sudden feeling of drain came over him and he toppled sideways. He grimaced, head beginning to pound violently. Discord's face appeared in his line of vision.

"Goodnight, Foxy," the spirit said with a wave of his paw. Foxy's vision darkened.

* * *

><p>Mike was tied up in the supply closet, which no one even went into anyways. He was safe for the night.<p>

The intruder, however, would not be.

Chica walked back to the stage, where Freddy and Bonnie were waiting.

"Well?" Freddy questioned gruffly.

"He's hidden," Chica said.

"Good. Now come on, let's get started." Freddy closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them, they were black with white pupils. Bonnie looked over, though his eyes were not like that. Chica felt the change as well.

Luna watched their actions in curiosity. They were searching for her, surely. She silently cursed herself for allowing herself to make such a mistake as cutting the security guard with her magic. But she'd ruined her chances of talking to them until morning, as she'd wanted to observe their behavior. She was no longer invisible, but they couldn't hurt her anyways. Besides, they'd just started what she assumed were their roaming modes—

"Gotcha!"

* * *

><p>Twilight was about to get angry at the sudden dead-end, but the wall fell before she had a chance. She glanced about, eyes searching. The grey personalities of Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy followed after her in a much more irritating manner.<p>

"Foxy?" Twilight called to the limp shape. She padded forward in curiosity. She gently prodded him with her hoof. Foxy was laying on his back, and looked quite dead. Thankfully, to Twilight's pleasure, he didn't appear grey—or in a killer mood.

"Uh, Foxy? Please don't be out of batteries. We already charged you today," the not-so-unicorn-right-then said, poking continuing.

Foxy let out a low mumble, batting her hoof away unconsciously. He rolled over, curling up.

"Come on, Foxy." Twilight furrowed her eyebrows.

"What?" Foxy finally murmured, sitting up.

"Oh, good, you're not all . . ." Twilight's bright eyes travelled back to her bickering friends.

Foxy blinked in confusion, rubbing his head. "Uh, aye, not like that." He got to his feet, but toppled over once again.

Twilight was there immediately. Her face appeared over his. "Are you okay?"

"I feel . . . awful, but I'll survive." Twilight assisted him in getting up and staying up.

"Okay, but if you feel any killing urges taking over you, please tell me."

* * *

><p>The maze fell around them.<p>

"Well, well, well. Somepony broke the "no wings, no magic" rule," Discord announced, his snake-like form appearing in the dust clouding the air. He snapped and wings and horns were returned to their rightful places. "Game's over, my little ponies. You didn't find your precious elements."

"Looks like we might be due for a big old storm of chaos!" Discord summoned an umbrella and cackled hysterically.

Twilight's face became one of horror as her ears fell.

**Author's Note:**

Yeppity yup yup. Yup. Yup.

I don't know what I'm doing.

And one person got it! One! Thanks to that guest who commented last chapter! :D


	16. Chaos Not so Eternal

Foxy watched on in shock as chocolate milk rain poured down from the cotton candy clouds clustered in the sky. Twilight angrily approached Discord, leaving her opposite personified friends to bicker and fight among themselves.

"Great, sticky rain. This gets better an' better," Foxy mumbled.

"What? Scared of a little rain, Foxy-woxy?" Fluttershy taunted as she hovered near his head.

The pirate gave her an irritated look. "Don't ye have someone else ta tease?"

"Nope! Hahah!" the pegasus laughed.

Pinkie Pie walked by them. "Stop laughing!"

Fluttershy, now occupied, floated down a ways. "Haha ha HA HA!"

"Quit it!"

"No! Ha _ha_ ha _ha ha!_"

"STOP!"

Foxy groaned and face palmed. He walked away from the annoying and repetitive squabbling, having had enough. He looked over and saw Twilight approaching him, an expression of despair on her features.

"Ugh, I just want to go home," the unicorn muttered. She suddenly brightened. "Home!" She grinned. ""Back where you began!" The Elements must be in . . . Ponyville!"

* * *

><p>"Gotcha!"<p>

Luna's breath was knocked out of her as two large arms grabbed her around the chest and yanked her backwards. Dark blue magic lit up in her hands and she used her strength to wrench the animatronic away from her body. The princess spun around and came face to face with Bonnie.

"W-where ya goin', stranger?" the bunny asked darkly. His eye twitched.

Luna's magic glowed brightly and a katana—exactly like the ones she used to yield in the ancient battles of Equestria—was formed in her grasp. She sized up the animatronic, who was once again taller than her.

"I am afraid I am not on the menu," Luna said evenly.

"Well, sure you aren't! But the show's about to start!" Bonnie continued. "You might want to get in your suit." Bonnie yanked on her arm. "Here, I'll show you where it is."

* * *

><p>Twilight sighed. "Okay, we're here. Everyone please, please, please just go inside, <em>please?<em>"

Foxy watched as the mares stomped inside, each giving Twilight even more grief than before. Eventually, it was just Rarity who was being difficult.

"Pleeeease, we gotta hurry!" Twilight whined.

"Forget it, Twilight. I know what you're up to. The second I go in, you'll have your little minion Spike come and take Tom!" Rarity argued, clinging onto the boulder.

"Tom?" She exchanged glances with Foxy. He just shrugged.

"Well, it's not going to work."

"You're not going in without him, are you?" Twilight deadpanned.

Rarity shook her head stubbornly. "Mm-mm." Her coat became even greyer.

"Fine!" Twilight shouted, stepping forward. Foxy quickly stopped her.

"Here, lemme get it," the pirate said.

Twilight sighed. "Thanks. At least you're sane."

"Careful!" Rarity shouted angrily.

Foxy put his arms under the huge rock and lifted it. He was sure he was going crazy because of these ponies, though not as much as Twilight surely was.

* * *

><p>Luna twisted her hand out of Bonnie's grip. The bunny blinked at her before glaring.<p>

"W-what's the matter? Are you a-afraid to get your s-suit on?" Bonnie asked darkly.

Luna narrowed her eyes and pointed to the floor. A blast of magic shot from her fingertips and hit his feet. He jumped away in shock.

"I w-wouldn't do that if I were you," Bonnie warned, waggling his finger at her. He latched onto her arm again and yanked suddenly, nearly pulling her off her feet.

"Unhand me," Luna commanded.

Bonnie grinned.

* * *

><p>"The Elements! They were here all along!" Twilight shouted in wonder.<p>

Foxy kicked Fluttershy away from him, reminding himself to apologize later, and scooted over to the violet unicorn to see.

"Oh, that's what them Elements look like!" Foxy said with a grin. Twilight beamed.

"This is great! Now you guys can defeat Discord and put everything back to normal!" Spike cheered.

Twilight leaped to her hooves and stood before her friends. "See, girls? We did it! We found the Elements of Harmony! Together!"

Applejack yawned.

"You don't even care, do you?"

As a group, "No."

Twilight sighed and let her head drop to the side. "I never thought it would happen. My friends . . . have turned into complete_JERKS!_" The violet unicorn began putting the Elements onto their appropriate holders. "Necklace! Necklace! Necklace! Necklace! And . . . big crown thingy! Come on, everypony, let's go!"

"But Twilight, aren't you missing somepony?" Spike asked.

"Nope. We've got the liar, the grump, the hoarder, and the brute. That just about covers it." Twilight glared at each of the mares in turn.

"But what about Rainbow Dash?"

"Congratulations, Spike, you're the new Rainbow Dash. Now let's go!" Twilight stuck the Element around his neck.

Spike gasped. "Me? B-b-but what if she finds out I've been impersonating her?" He moaned. "That won't end well." His eyes were wide.

"Too bad, you're Rainbow Dash. Now let's go defeat Discord so we don't ever have to talk to each other again!" Twilight reared onto her hind legs and raced off. Foxy glanced at the dragon before following.

The other ponies grinned and cheered, trampling Spike. "Yeah! Woo-hoo!" Meanwhile, Rarity was struggling once again to push her giant rock.

Twilight appeared behind her. "Move!" Her magic encased the boulder. "Look out, here comes Tom!" And the rock was sent flying off the balcony. Twilight appeared after, her chest puffed out in agitation.

Discord slipped into view, but from where, no one knew.

"Well, well, well, I see you've found the Elements of Harmony. How terrifying!" he called sarcastically.

Twilight stepped forward, head angled down. "Discord! I've figured out your lame riddle. You're in for it now!"

The draconequus fell down from the sky to the checkered ground. "I certainly am. You've _clearly_ out-dueled me, and now it's time to meet my fate." He summoned a pair of sunglasses and put them over his eyes. "I'm prepared to be defeated now, ladies. Fire when ready." Discord waved his paw over his body and a target formed.

Twilight growled, "Formation, now!" The grey mares responded with a chorus of 'ehs.'

"I've got a bad feelin' 'bout this," Foxy muttered to himself.

""Rainbow Dash", get over here." Spike, who'd been hiding behind Tom, gulped and ran over to the group.

Twilight sighed. "All right, let's get this over with."

* * *

><p>Chica stepped from the darkness to help Bonnie. The intruder was not getting into their suit without a fight. She could hear Freddy's music in another room.<p>

"B-Bonnie, are they going to get in their suit?" Chica asked. She grasped Luna's other arm.

Luna glowered. Her magic glowed and her form changed. She was now smoke. The princess slipped into the ceiling. There was no point in staying any longer.

* * *

><p>The ponies fell. Twilight picked herself up wearily.<p>

"What's going on?" she asked, puzzled.

Applejack inspected her Element. "Mine's workin'. There must be somethin' wrong with _yours._" She pointed at Twilight, who drooped.

"I HATE the Elements of Harmony!" Pinkie Pie declared.

"Hmph! Garbage," Fluttershy scoffed, throwing her necklace. Rarity shot towards it, scooping it up.

"MINE!" the fashionista yelled.

Spike gently set Rainbow's necklace on the ground. "Sorry, Twilight. I guess I'd better get back upstairs and clean up the library. Good luck with all this—whoa!" As he tried to run off, Fluttershy tripped him.

The pegasus grinned. "Oops, sorry, Rainbow _Crash._" She let out a mocking laugh.

Discord advanced towards the group. "Bravo, ponies, bravo!" He clapped, each giving a different sound. "Harmony in Equestria is officially dead. Discord rules, Celestia drools." Discord drew his finger down Twilight's snout, and she growled in return, eyes blazing.

Foxy snorted, stepping forward. "Maybe if ye hadn't cheated!"

Discord stopped walking away. He turned. "Me? Cheat? How absurd." He waved a paw in dismissal. "Besides, what are you going to do about it?"

"I can take care 'a ye!" Foxy thrust himself forward in a huge leap. He soared through the air, arms out and jaw open as a feral screech escaped him. He was aimed right at Discord.

The chaotic spirit rolled his eyes in the short amount of time he had. "I've had enough of you." He waved his paw at Foxy, and in mid-jump, there was a flash of golden light. Something small and red tumbled from the air, rolling head over paws at Discord's mismatched feet. He reached down and picked it up by the scruff.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Discord asked the small fox he had in his grasp. Foxy's mouth was open in shock. He was agitated to find that instead of fighting, he stayed still, as if he was paralyzed. "Ugh, you've been a pain in my hide all day—or is it days? Anyway, away with you." Discord summoned a rather large slingshot and set Foxy in it. He then drew the pouch back and released. Foxy went flying through the air, legs churning. He landed somewhere in the distance.

"Foxy!" Twilight cried, her eyes loosing track of his location. She heard a thump and a yelp of pain. "Discord! What did you do!?" She turned back to him.

The draconequus merely shrugged. "I just made him a bit more—realistic. I'm sure he's fine. He definitely won't be a problem anymore—to me or you."

Twilight stomped her hoof. "He wasn't a problem."

Discord laughed. "Are you sure about that?"

"He was a problem all right. He kept trying to steal my precious Tom," Rarity said, running her hoof over the boulder.

"Foxy was so lame. Should have named him 'Idiot' instead, seeing as he couldn't read at a level higher than a 1st grader," Fluttershy added.

Twilight blinked. "Is that why you kept laughing?"

"Well, well, well, Twilight Sparkle—you lost. Your Elements are useless. You may as well give up," Discord interrupted. With that, he gave an evil cackle and set off down a soapy road, twirling all the way.

"It's _your_ fault it didn't work!" Pinkie Pie announced.

Twilight turned her head. "Who are you talking to?"

"Any of you! ALL OF YOU! I'm outta here!" Pinkie began hopping off with a sour look on her face.

"Ah better go, too. Ah've got new _better_ friends waiting for me at the farm," Applejack said, walking away.

"Yeah! I'm sick of you _losers,_" Fluttershy snarled as she flew lowly over their heads.

Twilight's face contorted to one of anger. "FINE! Leave! See if I care! I don't need you guys either! With friends like you, who needs . . . enemies . . ." Her head dropped. Her bright colors faded to grey and a tear dropped from her eye onto the ground.

* * *

><p>Luna reappeared in her royal chambers in a swirl of blue. She fixed her attire and turned around . . . only to be met with the sight of her elder sister laying casually on her bed.<p>

"Sister! What are you doing here?" Luna asked, surprised.

Celestia stood, stretching her legs. "I just stopped by to say hello and discovered you were gone."

Luna rolled her cyan eyes. "Of course you did."

"I'll cut right to the point—did you travel to the human world?"

Luna paused. "Well, yes. I needed to speak to Foxy's acquaintances; I got a bit curious and I waited. Their roaming modes would definitely be deadly to any regular being."

"Yes, I was aware." Celestia padded towards her sister. "I also knew this was going to happen. But I cannot and will not try to restrain you." She headed for the doors.

"Good."

Celestia stopped abruptly.

* * *

><p>"Come on, ponies, let's get Discord!" Twilight declared.<p>

Fluttershy quickly stepped in front of her. "But Twilight, where did Foxy go? We can't just leave him."

"Why? What happened?" Rainbow Dash asked, swooping down next to her friend.

Twilight scuffed a hoof against the ground. "Well, he tried to attack Discord, but Discord I think turned him into an actual fox and—"

Pinkie Pie smacked Twilight out of the way, "And then Discord pulled out this big slingshot and slunged Foxy all the way over there!" She pointed with a hoof back in the direction of the library.

Twilight bumped Pinkie away. "'Slunged' isn't a word." She exhaled. "But yes, Pinkie is correct."

"Geez." Dash blinked. "Come on, we've gotta find him before we kick Discord's flank!"

"Yah!" Pinkie cheered, bouncing in the direction that Rainbow was already flying off. The other mares followed quickly after. From there, they started a search for their robotic companion.

"Foxy?" Rarity called, using her magic to lift bushes and flowers out of her sight. Pinkie was sticking her head into random things and popping up somewhere else.

Twilight approached Fluttershy. "You know more about animals. Do you have an idea of where he'd hide?"

The creamy coated pegasus tapped her chin. "Just dark places, I guess. Bushes or holes. I doubt he would've gone farther than this area."

"Hey! Ah think Ah found somethin'!" Applejack called, motioning with her hoof for them to come over.

"Paw prints!" Rarity announced happily. "Eeeeew, is that chocolate milk?" Her face turned to one of revulsion.

"And look!" Dash shouted, pointing. "They lead right into that hole!"

"Fluttershy, you wanna-?" Twilight asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh, of course." The pegasus ducked onto her stomach, hooves near her face. She peered into the small hole. "Foxy?" She heard something move in the depths. The slightest sound of paws moving made her twitch an ear. "Foxy, it's Fluttershy—I'm not bad anymore." Finally, a red snout poked out. Quickly, Fluttershy bent forward and closed her mouth gently on his scruff, then tugged him out and stood up.

"Aww, look at him!" Pinkie squealed, eyes widening. Foxy dangled limply from Fluttershy's mouth. He churned his paws ever so slightly and the timid pegasus set him down.

"Just look at his big ears and little paws! And his tail is so fluffy! I mean, just look at it!" Pinkie continued, batting at his large red tail with a pink hoof.

"Pinkie," Dash deadpanned.

"What? Wait, wait, and let me test something . . ." Pinkie moved her hoof up to Foxy's neck. She scratched softly and he let out a happy 'murr.' He arched his back like a cat and raised his face.

"Pinkie Pie, we don't have time for this," Twilight said. "Come on, girls!" She raced off with Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie following. Fluttershy squeaked in surprise and ducked down, taking hold of his scruff again. Foxy whined in distress, and she emitted a muffled apology as she bounded over the checkered grass in large leaps.

* * *

><p>The large bubble of cleansing magic expanded and spread across Equestria. Discord's rule was over.<p>

The ponies fell back to the ground and cheered. Foxy stood up, shaking his head to clear it. The mares trotted over to him.

"How did it feel to be alive, huh?" Twilight asked.

"Odd. Don't really want ta do it 'gain," Foxy replied as he stretched his arms.

"It'd almost be easier," Dash muttered to Applejack, who snickered.

"But you were cute, I'm just saying," Pinkie Pie repeated.

"Of course," Fluttershy said softly.

"Ooh, I wonder if it still works!" Pinkie hopped onto Foxy's shoulders and began scratching him on the back of his neck. Foxy let out a sigh and fell on his stomach with a thud, his eyes closed in content. Pinkie grinned in victory, eyes bright as she pet him.

"Hacks! I found hacks!"

**Author's Note:**

Uhh . . . I dunno. *shrugs and ends up flailing arms everywhere*

Yay, double update?


	17. Meh?

Fluttershy put one hoof over another and sat watching. Foxy was slumbering on her couch and she was laying in her armchair. She knew what would come next—he'd have a nightmare and panic, then be nearly inconsolable. Of course, she never questioned what it was about the next morning—she had a good enough idea.

_I wish he'd say something to me. He just bottles all his emotions in._

So here she was, ignoring her fatigue and instead focusing on Foxy. Occasionally he'd twitch or something like that, but so far there was no sign of a bad dream.

* * *

><p>"Mike?"<p>

The security guard jolted awake, the voice scaring him. He looked up and was faced with a woman.

"Doll?" he asked in a groaning voice. His blonde-haired girlfriend looked down at him with worry.

"What happened to you? You never came home and I got worried. So I got one of your coworkers to let me in before they open." Doll reached down and grabbed his arm, heaving the skinny guard to his feet. Almost instantly, he toppled forward, but she caught him.

"Mikey, come on, let's get you to the car," Doll said, taking one of his arms and putting it over her shoulders so he could use her as support.

"Urg . . . I feel terrible," Mike groaned.

"Yeah, you look the part. Where'd you get all those bruises?"

"Bruises?"

Doll raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, half your face and neck is black-and-blue. We better get you to the hospital."

"I don't need a hospital . . ." Mike's feet stopped working and he went slack in Doll's arms. She let out a yelp and almost went down with him, but managed to stay upright.

"Oh dear."

* * *

><p>Foxy began to whimper and his twitching became more pronounced. Fluttershy pricked her ears and looked over.<p>

"Foxy, it's okay, I'm here," Fluttershy shushed as she got up. She gently nuzzled against his face, trying to calm him down. He only growled and clenched his fist as if angry.

"No, no, I'm sorry," the pirate whined. He brought his leg up and kicked it at something. Fluttershy's mouth contorted into a grimace and then she reached over to shake his shoulders.

"Foxy! Foxy, wake up!" Fluttershy shouted. After a few moments, with a flail of his limbs, Foxy shot into the waking world. He blinked several times, eyes darting in different directions.

"W-what? Fluttershy?" he asked in confusion.

"Yes, it's me. You were having another nightmare."

Foxy sat up. "Aye, course I was." He sighed. "I'm sorry, lass. I don't mean ta keep ye from sleepin' with my night terrors."

Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm used to staying up. I'd just like if you would talk about your dreams. You've been through traumatic events that would have most in mental hospitals."

Now it was his turn to shake his head. "No, I really don't want ta." He rolled away and onto the floor. A yellow hoof came down in front of his nose. He looked up, ears back.

"Foxy, it's been a week of extremely horrible nightmares. Tell me—are these worse than you had in the other world?"

Foxy shied away, trying to make himself smaller. The action confirmed her fears without words. Fluttershy sat down.

"Please, I want to help. It's obvious you need it."

Foxy sighed and pushed himself up. "I understand that ye want ta help, but I wouldn't want ta interrupt your life more than I've already done."

The pegasus frowned. "But if I can't help you, I'll be forever remorseful!"

"Ta be honest, I don't see the point in all this—this whole situation. For Fazbear's sake, I'm a broken robot that was once a children's entertainer! I'll never be on stage ever 'gain. Everythin' ye 'ave been doin' . . . I jus' don't see the point."

Fluttershy gasped, eyes widening. "Do you really think that we care what you are?" She fixed him with a firm look. "We don't care if you're a poor apple farmer or a shut-in with no life, no one deserves to live with something that horrible and be told every day that it's their fault."

Foxy blinked at her. "Are . . . are ye sure?"

"Yes, I am." She nodded, a smile on her lips.

"Thanks lass. I guess I jus' don't want ta ruin yer life as well."

"Get those thoughts out of your head. I'm the Element of Kindness. If I didn't accept you, then how well would I be representing my element?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Now, come on, tell me."

Foxy hesitated, eyes darting back and forth between her and the door. Fluttershy saw his travelling gaze and got to her hooves, scooting in front of him.

"Don't even think about it," she said, frowning.

He made a small sound of guilt and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry."

Fluttershy blinked a few times and tilted her head. "Was it about the bite? Or about what happened . . ." She winced, her memory recalling the event she'd witnessed. If Freddy ever saw her, it would be the last thing he did. ". . . Afterwards," she finished.

"Mostly the bite. But the aftereffects come 'casionally." He dragged a long metal finger across the wooden floor, shrugging.

"Was that what you dreamt about tonight?"

Another shrug was her only answer. Fluttershy took that as a yes and stood up, knowing she wouldn't get any more out of him.

"Well, I've got some things to do tomorrow, so I'm going to get some sleep." Fluttershy started towards her bedroom. "I'm having a picnic with the girls as well. Would you like to come? I'm sure they'd all be happy to see you. It's been nearly a week, with you staying here and all."

Foxy glanced up, eyes wide. "Uh, aye, might as well. Thanks lass. Ye 'ave a good night."

"You too." With that, the pegasus flew up her stairs, lights flicking off to complete darkness. Foxy's eyes glowing in the black were the only things that illuminated the room.

* * *

><p>Doll sat on the bed, legs kicking idly as she did so. Mike lay unconscious next to her, dressed now in a hospital gown. She heard the doctor enter and looked up, pushing her glasses higher on her nose.<p>

"You're Michael's girlfriend, correct?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," she replied, now standing.

"I'm Dr. Philips." He shook her hand as she introduced herself as well. "He's got quite the medical record, hasn't he?"

Doll grimaced slightly, nodding. "Uh, yes, unfortunately." She paused. "Is there anything wrong with him?"

Dr. Philips shook his head. "Not at all. Besides the bruising, there's nothing wrong with him. Though he might be sick for a few days—some of the pressure points that were used to knock him out were fairly unorthodox."

Doll sighed in relief. "Thank goodness he's alright."

He nodded. "Yes, of course. When he awakens, he can be discharged."

* * *

><p>"Geez, I hope Mike's okay," Bonnie said. Freddy glanced over, a cigarette in his hand.<p>

"We didn't stuff anyone last night, so he must've gotten out. Plus that burglar, or whatever they were doing here," the bear commented. He glared at nothing for a moment. "Too bad."

Chica shrugged. "Nothing was stolen, as far as I can tell. Mike's not in the closet. It's almost as if nothing happened at all. Though I swear, something strange occurred last night. It's fuzzy."

"I agree. Freddy, I don't remember you being there, but something . . ." Bonnie searched for the right word. "_Mystical_happened."

Freddy narrowed his eyes. "Mystical? Strange? What are you two going on about?" He took a long drag from his cigarette.

Chica tapped her chin. "I don't know. It's really odd—I can't remember like I usually can."

"And you forgetting what we do is weird because?"

Chica frowned at him. "Freddy, for the past thirteen years, I've remembered what we've done in roaming mode—back even to when there was no security guard. Why, the one night we get an intruder, can't I remember what occurred?"

Freddy thought for a few moments. "Look, I don't really recall what's happened either, but I'm sure it's nothing."

Bonnie looked over. "You don't think it's the least bit suspicious?"

"Well—"

"Freddy! You are _always_ the most distrustful, and now you're not even a _teeny_ morsel of suspiciousness?" Chica interrupted, pinching her fingers together to signify how much he seemed like he cared.

Freddy shrugged, then took a drag of his cigarette. Chica sighed with a frown, turning away. She scooted closer to Bonnie.

"I think he's lost it," the chicken deadpanned. Bonnie hesitated slightly before nodding.

* * *

><p>The six were gathered around their picnic area. Rarity was looking through her basket, nose poking under the pink fabric that lay across the top.<p>

"Please tell me I did not forget the plates," the unicorn fretted. She gasped and pulled her face away, looking with disappointment at the basket. "I did. I totally forgot them. Of all the worst things that could happen, this is _THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!_" Rarity's eyes got wide and her horn lit up. A couch was dragged to her side and she fell across it, crying why. As she realized the eyes of all her friends were on her, she raised an eyebrow. "Uh . . . What? You didn't expect me to lay on the grass, did you?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and let her sunglasses fall back onto her eyes. Suddenly, deranged snorting sounded from above her. She lifted her glasses, only to be faced with an unstable looking Twilight.

Applejack glanced over. "You alright, hun?"

Twilight maintained her crooked grin before letting it dissolve into a pout. "No! I am not alright."

The other girls and Foxy all gave various exclamations of surprise and wonder.

"It's just terrible," Twilight moaned, head dropping.

While all the ponies went, "Yes?", Foxy let out his traditional "Aye?"

"Simply awful."

Another chorus of wonder.

"It's the most horrific trouble I've ever been in and I really really _really_ need your help!"

Even louder and more pressing this time.

"My letter to Princess Celestia is almost overdue, and I haven't learned anything about friendship!"

There was a series of relieved sighs. Fluttershy leaned back, smiling. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought something really awful had happened."

Twilight sputtered, eyes wide. "Something awful _has_ happened! If I don't turn in the letter on time, I'll be tardy! TARDY!"

Foxy tilted his head. "What does that mean?"

The violet unicorn grabbed his shoulders and pressed her face against his. "It means I'm going to be LATE! And I won't allow that to happen!" She released her grip, shoving him back. The other ponies let out a few giggles.

Applejack casually walked forward. "No offense, sugarcube, but it looks like somepony's gettin' themselves all worked up over nothin'."

"This is not nothing. This is everything. I need you guys to help me find somepony with a problem I can fix before sundown! _My whole life depends on it!_"

Pinkie Pie fell over, laughing and kicking her back legs. "Oh, Twilight, you're such a crack-up!"

The book smart unicorn seemed absolutely astounded. Applejack met her with a steady look.

"Come on now. Have a seat and stop sweatin' the small stuff," AJ suggested. Twilight groaned in irritation. She twisted around and galloped off, vanishing in a burst of magenta magic.

"Wow. I've never seen Twilight so upset before," Fluttershy said with a frown.

Rarity spoke up from her fainting couch. "Oh, what a drama queen. Mm. Relatively speaking." She ran a hoof through her mane in embarrassment.

"Don't ye think ye were all a lil bit . . . _rude_ ta Twilight?" Foxy asked, sitting back on the picnic blanket. The five mares turned to look at him.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Rude? How?"

"All we were doin' was tryin' to calm her down. She was frettin' 'bout nothin'," Applejack said with a quick shrug.

"She seemed too upset for it ta be "nothin'" as ye put it," the pirate commented with a tinge of irritation to his voice. "I didn't even know what 'tardy' meant, but it seemed as if twas 'portant ta her."

Fluttershy tilted her head at his statement. "Do you really think so?" She looked around. "_Were_ we too uncaring about Twilight's problem?"

Pinkie gasped. "What if we made her sad?"

"Should . . . should we go check on her?" Fluttershy asked. The mares remained quiet for a few moments, then they got up and rushed towards town.

"But I was so _relaxed,_" Dash complained, stretching as she hurriedly followed after.

* * *

><p>Foxy didn't remember to duck under the doorframe and smashed right through the oak. Splinters of wood were flung in every direction and even managed to get stuck in his fur. He grunted, shaking his head as they skidded to a stop. All eyes were on him, but he quickly gave them a thumbs up and resumed clearing his fur.<p>

"Quite the entrance . . ." Twilight mumbled to herself, eyes dark as her friends started talking.

"I'm listening," Princess Celestia said, putting on a fake exterior.

"Please, your Highness. We all saw that Twilight was upset," Fluttershy said.

"But we thought that the thing she was worrying about wasn't _worth_ worrying about," Rainbow Dash added.

"So when she ran off all worked up, not a single one of us tried to stop her," Applejack said.

"As Twilight's good friends, we _should_ have taken her feelings seriously and been there for her!" Rarity continued. She nudged Foxy, who was standing next to her. He blinked, glancing down at her. "Thankfully, Foxy here piped up and said we were being insensitive." She gave him a smile.

Princess Celestia smiled as well. "Really? Hmm."

"Please don't take her away from us just because we were too insensitive to help her," Fluttershy finished.

The solar goddess pretended to think for a moment. "Looks like you all learned a pretty valuable lesson today."

There was a chorus of responses, all agreeing, excluding Foxy, who just let out a quiet "meh."

"Very well. I'll forget Twilight's "punishment" on one condition." Acknowledgments. "From this day forth, I would like you _all_ to report to me your findings on the magic of friendship, when, and only when, you happen to discover them." She paused. "And that includes _you,_ Foxy."

The pirate glanced up from where he'd been brushing off his chest. "What? Me?"

"Yes, of course. You're part of the group now." The trolling sense inside Princess Celestia was telling her this was the time.

Foxy arched an eyebrow. "Uhhh . . . are ye serious?"

"100% so." Celestia smiled.

"Princess Celestia, wait! How did you know I was in trouble?" Twilight asked.

"Your friend Spike made me aware that you were letting your fears get the best of you. I commend him for taking your feelings seriously. Now, if you will all excuse me, I must return to Canterlot. I'm expecting some mail," Celestia informed, winking.

Applejack cleared her throat. "Y'all heard the Princess. Spike, take a letter."

* * *

><p>Foxy groaned. "Ugggh, now I'm gon' have ta do what ye ponies do?"<p>

Twilight closed her eyes, smiling. "Yes, yes you are."

Dash snickered, hovering in the air. "Yeah! Friendship!" She kicked her legs with laughter.

"And Twilight, um, if you need help fixing the door," Fluttershy piped from beside her.

"It's fine. Just because you're taking care of Foxy doesn't mean you have to clean up his messes," Twilight said, aiming her last words at the pirate. He shrugged.

"What? Sorry, but I don't get how the princesses would allow such tiny doors," he answered. "I've run into doors more times this week . . ."

Fluttershy blinked, then looked back to Twilight. "Anyways—"

"Hey, hey, I have an idea," Rainbow interrupted, trying to contain her giggles.

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Do we even want to know?"

"Y-yes, because it's hilarious." She laughed, flight pattern jerky. "Alright, alright, I'm gonna say it." She fizzed with giggles. "W-why don't you get him a leash?" With that, she died of laughter, falling out of the air to the ground at the thought of Foxy walking around with a collar and leash on. Similarly, Applejack was snorting with laughter beside her. Pinkie Pie was pounding her hooves on the ground in amusement.

Foxy hunched his shoulders, blushing. "No."

Twilight tapped her chin, biting her lip as she tried not to laugh. "I don't know, it kind of seems like a good idea."

Fluttershy giggled. Rarity smirked, letting out a small snicker at his expense.

"Ye scurvy dogs."

* * *

><p><em>It's now or never.<em>

Luna adjusted her stance and began the intricate spell.

There was a knock at the door.

Luna straightened up, coughing. "Yes, come in." She turned to face her sister. Celestia strode in, head held high.

"I take it that you were just about to do what I warned you not to do?" the elder sister questioned smoothly.

Luna flattened her ears. "Well, yes. But I have a good reason."

"Last time you were there, they turned on you and tried to attack you, no? It will be no different tonight."

"I shall talk to them—I shan't allow them to enter roaming mode like last time." Luna cleared her throat. "Besides, if you were there . . ."

Celestia's violet eyes widened. "No! You are going to try and make me come; I know what you're up to."

"Come on, you said you wanted to keep me safe. If you seriously are worried, then accompany me to the human world." Luna raised her eyebrows.

"Do not goad me," Celestia said, eyes now narrowed.

"Let us go, ay? We never do anything _cool_ as a team anymore," Luna responded, circling the white alicorn.

"You sound like you're 500 again—making stupid choices and begging me into doing those stupid things with you."

"Stupid?" Luna sounded amazed. "It is not stupid—merely like a talk with another king or ambassador from another kingdom, yes?" She grinned slyly. "Just like old times."

Celestia followed her sister's movements warily. "Yet we will be talking to robots from another dimension."

"Meh, close enough."

Celestia sighed. "Fine. But only because I don't trust you to not to pester me into going even more."

Luna rolled her eyes. "Now who sounds like 500?"

"I'd still say you."

**Author's Note:**

Next chapter for sure, guys. *wink wink*

And I just imagine Celestia and Luna talk to each other like that sometimes. Don't judge me. BTW, I've always thought that about this episode. Why would they all just ignore her problem? Kind of like them hating Pinkie's singing in _Over a Barrel._


	18. The Second Coming

Twilight held the two wires together, eyes narrowed as she prepared to touch them. With a small yet careful movement, she tapped them against one another. A huge explosion of sparks sprayed back into her face, causing her to give a wild yell and leap backwards.

Twilight lifted her goggles from her eyes. "Ugh, you're supposed to meld together! That was like, the fifth time!" She wiped some ash from her forearm and tossed the destroyed wires into disposal. She then removed her lab coat, goggles, and safety boots, setting them where they belonged before trotting tiredly upstairs. She smelled something good and made her way to the kitchen.

Spike was making breakfast. He glanced over. "So, how's it going?"

Twilight plopped down at the table. "Urg, not well. It's been over a week and I've gotten nowhere. Half the time, I don't know what I'm doing." She rubbed at her eyes: sore from looking into bright lights.

Spike flipped the pancake over and tended to the hay bacon beside him. "What _are_ you trying to do anyways?"

"I'm trying to do something about Foxy's problem with switching to roaming mode."

"And not working on him is helping how?" Spike asked, getting out two plates from a cupboard to his left.

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Spike turned around, two plates full of food in his claws. He deposited them at their spots and sat down. "Foxy isn't here; you sent him with Fluttershy. So how do you work on it at all? You can't test it on nothing." He took a large scoop of his scrambled eggs and stuck them in his mouth.

"I don't think you understand what I'm trying." Twilight levitated her fork.

Her assistant shrugged, slurping a piece of hay bacon from his plate. "Whatever you think works, but honestly, if I were you, I'd, you know, make sure it works. Maybe I don't get what you're doing—all I'm saying is that it wouldn't make sense to anypony but you."

"Are you saying my methods are debauched?"

"Whatever that means, sure."

* * *

><p><em>I cannot believe I'm doing this.<em>

Celestia's glowing ethereal form changed and began to build up her human body, starting at her feet and making its way up her length. Soon she was a tall, slim woman clad in yellow-and-violet armor. With a casual flick of her hand, the armor faded into a darker purple suit much like Luna's own dark blue. At her hip was a broadsword concealed in a leather scabbard, her royal symbol emblazoned on it. Luna saw this and cocked her head.

"Why do you have Sol?" the lunar goddess asked, addressing the sword.

Celestia glanced down. "I figured having it at my side is better than trying to conjure it in battle." She looked Luna up and down. "Don't you have your katanas?"

Luna frowned. "Why would I need them?"

"There is obviously more corruption in this world—we might need our weapons."

After pondering it for a moment, Luna allowed the slim blades to shimmer into view. She then tucked the twin katanas into place in the bands across her back. The handles stuck out on both sides of her head. She'd always preferred slimmer blades (such as her katanas or occasional rapier), while Celestia had gone with the larger ones (her broadsword, battle axe, etc.), though they both wielded bows with deadly accuracy.

"So, what's our plan?" Celestia asked. She looked up at the sun high in the sky. Judging its position and the atmosphere surrounding them, she'd say it was about four in the afternoon.

Luna tossed her shimmering hair, letting it cascade down her back, where it rested with a slight curl at the end. "I did not mean to arrive so early in the daytime," she explained, frowning. Celestia placed a hand on the golden hilt of Sol and glanced around. They were in some random alley, probably the weakest spot to enter the dimension.

"Hmm, time must move slower here. Foxy said it was 1993, yet our world is in the 7300s. I wonder how long it has actually been since Foxy was transported to Equestria," Celestia commented. She glanced around.

Luna did the same. "Yes, I'd heard that." A thoughtful look crept over her features, and then a sly grin. "Say, shall we allow ourselves a tour of this city?"

"Luna, shouldn't we check out the restaurant?"

The lunar sovereign shrugged. "Why? The animatronics are on stage and there will be plenty of people there. We have time to kill."

Celestia blinked. "Yes, I suppose you are correct." Her clothes changed to a white dress with gold trimming that reached down to her ankles, but cut up one way to reach her knee. On her feet were the traditional golden slippers and the rest of her royal attire was present. Luna quickly changed as well, garnishing herself in jeans and a dark blue T-shirt—also with her regal dressings adorning her.

"Now," Luna declared, grabbing her sister's arm, "let us be off!"

* * *

><p>Twilight's scream rang through the whole library. Spike sighed and rolled his eyes. He grabbed the fire extinguisher and walked to the laboratory's door, opened it, and made his way down the steps. He pulled the pin and let out a torrent of white spray, extinguishing the small fire that had started on the table. Twilight, who'd dove under the nearest chair, crawled out.<p>

"Thanks Spike. Don't know what I'd do without you," the unicorn said thankfully, rubbing his scales.

"Probably burn or starve to death," Spike muttered, even as he appreciated the gesture.

"Speaking of burn." Twilight looked at the charred area of the room. "I swear, I'm close." She lit her horn and the mess was gone, leaving no evidence that it ever existed.

"Maybe you should take my advice and get Foxy over here. Just see if your idea is going to work."

"I think it will."

Spike arched one incredulous eyebrow at her. Twilight saw this and smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll get it, and _then _I'll test it."

The dragon sighed, throwing up his hands. He started up the stairs. "That doesn't even make any sense."

* * *

><p>Fluttershy was cutting vegetables in her kitchen, hoof moving up and down in a rhythmic pattern. Being careful not to accidently cut herself, she swept the carrots into a bowl and set them aside. She then snatched a cucumber from its place and began slicing it as well. It was then that she heard heavy footsteps behind her.<p>

"Good morning, Foxy," the pegasus said, not ceasing her cutting. Foxy stopped in the doorway to her kitchen, looking around.

"Mm, mornin', lass. What're ye doin'?" he asked, stepping closer.

"Just cutting some vegetables." She paused a few moments. "Have a good night's sleep?"

Foxy grunted. "Usual."

Fluttershy nodded. "Say, do you mind helping me with something today?" She frowned. "If you don't, that's okay . . ."

"Why wouldn't I? Not like I'm busy . . ." Foxy trailed off. "What did ye need help with?"

"I've got to pick up my order of birdseed down at the veterinarian's. Rainbow Dash usually does it for me, as she likes to become better at carrying heavy loads for long distances, but as you know, she's in Cloudsdale to visit her parents. Now I've got no one to help me." She finished chopping up the cucumber and put it in the bowl. She turned around. "So I was wondering if you'd go with me and fetch it."

"Aye, I'll do it." Foxy was unprepared for a quick hug around his legs. Fluttershy smiled up at him and backed away.

"Okay, let's leave as soon as we can. I've got to feed my animals, and that should be it."

"Aye aye."

* * *

><p>Celestia and Luna sat at a restaurant. It was starting to get late, so after this would be the time to sneak off to the pizzeria.<p>

"Hmm, what are you having?" Luna asked, glancing up from her menu.

"Probably chicken," Celestia idly replied.

Luna's eyes snapped back up. "Really?"

"Yes. In Equestria, it's considered taboo to even consider eating another living thing—though there are some exceptions. I figured I'd give it a try." Celestia shrugged.

Luna pondered this for a moment. "You know what, sister, I think I shall try as well."

Celestia hummed. "Goodness, their cakes look delicious."

"Are you already thinking about dessert?"

The older sister looked up. "Maybe." She bit her lip. "What? I have an addiction."

* * *

><p>Doll watched anxiously as Mike buttoned up his work shirt. "Do you really have to go? You went through a trauma—you can stay home," she said.<p>

Mike glanced over at her. "Sorry, Doll. The boss is already angry at me—I doubt he'd let me stay home if I'm fine."

Doll grabbed his hand. "But you're not fine. Every morning you come home, and you look as though you've been at war. Please, just get another job."

"There are no other jobs, Doll. I'm lucky I got this one, with the economy as it is." Mike slipped his hat on and leaned down to get a kiss from his girlfriend. "Now, I'd better get going. Don't want to be late." He grabbed his car keys and headed towards the front door.

"Be safe!" Doll called before he shut the door. Once he was gone, she sighed. "Please be safe, Mikey."

* * *

><p>"Hiyah, Ms. Fluttershy! And I see you brought your . . . friend," the vet, her name Mane Goodall, said warily as she eyed Foxy. Fluttershy smiled hesitantly.<p>

"Yes, hello. I'm here to pick up my birdseed," the pegasus replied.

"Oh! I always thought RD got it for you." Goodall led them into the storage area. Various supplies and kits sat for later use, but a large bag of birdseed was laying propped up against the wall.

"She usually does, but she's out of town."

"I see. Is that why, um, he's here?" Goodall asked, pointing at Foxy.

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, if you don't mind him being here. It is okay, right?"

"Of course it is! I'm just a bit unnerved. I've never had an animal quite like him in here before." She gave Fluttershy a nervous smile.

"Don't worry—he's a good fox. Right, Foxy?"

The pirate shot her an unimpressed glare and bent to pick up the birdseed. "Got it," he said.

"Alrighty then! Thank you, Ms. Goodall! We'll just be out of your mane, now," Fluttershy announced. Foxy bent under the doorway and she followed him out.

"No problem. Have a good day!"

When the two were out of the veterinarian's, Foxy directed his attention to Fluttershy. "A good fox? Really?"

The pegasus frowned. "Sorry, but I couldn't exactly say he doesn't bite, now could I?" She seemed to register what she said a second too late. "Oh, no, I'm sorry!"

**What she said is very true.**

Foxy rolled his eyes. "W-whatever."

**Oops, was that a stutter I heard?**

Fluttershy glanced up at him, but pretended not to notice. "Are you okay? The birdseed's not too heavy, is it?"

Shaking his head, Foxy replied, "N-no."

**Might want to control that little twitch there, huh?**

"'m f-f'ne," Foxy growled, something inside him stirring.

"Are you sure? We can stop if you wa—"

"I s-said, I'm f-fine!"

Fluttershy gasped, shrinking back. Her eyes blinked a few times in shock. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

**Oh look, you've made her cry. Now would be a good time to bite her face off.**

"No."

Fluttershy paused. "W-what?"

Foxy stopped in mid-step. "What what?"

"You just said no. No to what?" Fluttershy asked. "Wait, Foxy, are you . . . glitching?"

Foxy fumbled with the birdseed, then just dropped it all together. "I-I don't think s-so."

Fluttershy frowned. "We're going to Twilight's."

* * *

><p>"Mike!"<p>

The security guard was unprepared for the sudden weight smashing into him. Chica bowled him over, bringing them both crashing to the floor. Mike groaned as his bruises were harshly pressed down on, and the animatronic seemed to notice this. She rolled backward, sitting on the floor.

"Oops."

"It's—it's okay. I'm fine," Mike huffed. He clambered to his feet.

"What happened to you!?" Chica exclaimed.

"Uh, whoever attacked me left me some bruises. That's really all that's wrong with me."

"Those look really bad."

"They're really not." Chica poked him sharply in the chest, and he winced. "They still _hurt,_ however." He rubbed at the spot.

"So, you lived," came Freddy's voice. The two turned around and saw Freddy and Bonnie walking down the hall.

* * *

><p>Celestia glanced over at Luna, eyes narrowed. The younger sister caught this look and blinked.<p>

"What? Harming him was not intentional. I may have overestimated the strength that humans possess," Luna defended herself. Rolling her eyes, the solar goddess switched her attention back to the conversation.

"Yeah, though I doubt you really care," Mike mumbled to Freddy. The bear shrugged.

"Meh, I guess. Chica just wants me to be nice," Freddy said, jabbing his thumb at her.

"You're lucky I'm not making you do more," Chica replied with a slight huff.

"Yeah, whatever."

"_So,_" Bonnie interrupted, trying to move the conversation forward, "did you maybe . . . see who did it to you?"

Mike furrowed his eyebrows. "I . . . hmm, yes, I think so. Right before I was rudely and quickly knocked out, yeah. I think they were a, uh, girl, actually. A woman." He contemplated this before nodding. "Yes, I'm sure it was. A woman, and she had blue hair—it glowed kinda, too. That's really all I could tell. It was too dark."

"Really?" Chica asked, interested. "Do you think she has anything to do with Foxy?"

Luna and Celestia reacted to this. They shifted cautiously, taking more care to listen to the conversation.

"Glowing hair?" Bonnie questioned, cocking his head. "That does seem suspicious."

Chica glanced over at Freddy. "Don't you think so too?"

Freddy rubbed his chin. "Whatever she was doing here, it wasn't good."

"At least we can agree on that."

Mike scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, sure. Come on, we should go to the, uh, room. Whatever it's called."

Freddy rolled his eyes. "Fine." He took the lead and started down the hall . . . only to bump into something. Celestia, who'd been the one in the way, became visible. Her tall figure stood imposingly, her lightweight armor shining faintly with magic. Freddy stumbled back a few steps, quite surprised at what had just happened. Soon after, Luna appeared next to her sister. Freddy quickly recovered from his shock and took a step forward, snarling. An ivory sword was swiftly pointed at him, courtesy of Celestia. Sol's ghostly white blade contrasted sharply with the dark hallway.

"Greetings," Celestia said smoothly, sheathing Sol. "Sorry about that. I just haven't used him in _such_ a long time."

Luna took a small step forward. "I am Luna and this is my sister, Celestia. We are the rulers of the kingdom of Equestria."

Mike backed up, not taking any chances. "You're that woman that attacked me!" He hid behind Bonnie.

"Yes, and for that I apologize. I did not intend to harm you."

Freddy scoffed, "Why are you here?"

"We had to convene with you, for we know what you are searching for," Celestia replied. "Foxy is safe with us."

"Foxy? You have him?" Chica asked, now concerned. "Give him back!"

Luna's gaze hardened. "I am afraid it is not that simple. Foxy has deep and troubling problems—problems which have burdened him for a good while, and may be the complete destruction of everything he knows." She conjured a small metal box, and crushed it in her hand, allowing the red-hot liquid to drip out of her fist.

"Problems?" Bonnie asked. He cocked his head, one ear twitching.

"Yes," Celestia responded, "and he will not leave Equestria until we get him past these. Obviously he is getting no help while he is here."

"Foxy doesn't have problems," Freddy said, rolling his eyes. "He might be a bit out of commission, but he's not—"

Luna interrupted him. "Broken? Damaged?" She set her burning cyan gaze on him. Freddy shifted uncomfortably, glancing away. Luna continued. "As we were saying, Foxy shall not leave Equestria until he is deemed fit to do so."

Mike peeked out from around Bonnie. "Uh, if you care, if I don't get Foxy back, I'm going to lose my job . . ."

"That's true," Bonnie said in response to Mike's statement.

"I do not understand why you work here," Celestia murmured. She rolled her eyes. "I am sorry, but time shall pass, and we cannot do anything. Your world moves slowly enough as it is."

"What do you mean, our world?" Mike questioned. He stood up.

"Why do you think we were invisible?" Luna asked, somewhat sharply. "Equestria is not of your world, but another. Ours is full of magic and, well, a difference in species, naturally."

"Can we maybe . . . see Foxy?" Chica asked quietly. Luna and Celestia exchanged glances.

_Shall we?_ Luna asked telepathically to her sister.

_I am not sure if we should do this,_ Celestia replied.

_Tia, this would be the perfect opportunity._

After a moment's hesitation. _You're right. Let us._

"Yes, I think maybe that will work," Luna said out loud.

Chica gasped. "Really?" She took a step forward.

Freddy quickly stopped her by putting an arm out. "Whoa, whoa. I wouldn't trust these . . . females."

Celestia couldn't decide whether to narrow her eyes or roll them. "Females, huh? I would not disrespect us."

"Because I really care."

Deciding to just go through with their plan, Celestia lifted her hand and a bright golden light illuminated the room. Freddy's eyes widened and he backed up, both arms out to shield the others. The light became more intense as Luna's magic came in.

* * *

><p>Twilight frowned. She worked fervently, magic and hooves alike working together. Foxy was sitting on the table, deactivated; his circuits were on display as the unicorn toiled.<p>

"Well?" Fluttershy asked from where she was sitting.

Twilight briefly glanced over. "Well what?"

"How is it?"

"Not good. When you two came in and you said he was glitching, I didn't think there'd be evidence of it in his circuits. But no—there totally is." Twilight twitched her tail.

"And what is it?" Fluttershy was now standing on her hind legs, fore-hooves placed on the work table.

"Uh, well, he's a bit . . . warm, to tell you the truth. When he froze up, he got cold. When he's glitching-?"

Fluttershy frowned as her friend trailed off. "He gets warm? Wait, he said that his circuits get all weird when he hasn't been on roaming mode, so you think that's the reason he was all glitchy earlier?"

Twilight tugged on a tangle of wires. "That's a good theory. We can only assume at this point." She inserted a few new wires in and pulled them tight. "We've never seen him this bad. It must be getting worse, each time he goes without it."

Fluttershy nodded. "Because at the Gala, he didn't glitch once before he switched."

"Exactly. He said he just couldn't control it."

"It makes me wonder if something else is in control," came a regal voice. Luna padded towards them on silent hooves.

"Princess Luna?" Twilight asked, lifting her goggles.

"Yes, but no need to stop your work." She cleared her throat. "You must quickly finish and gather your friends. The others are here."

"_Others?_" Fluttershy asked, facing the princess. She paused. "W-wait, you mean-?"

"Indeed." Luna nodded solemnly. "Unfortunately, as with Foxy, they've came through into this world directly into the Everfree Forest. The Canterlot Castle is protected from foreign objects, living or nonliving, that come through. The Everfree's magic is perfect for that sort of thing."

Twilight jumped off her chair and scooted over. "We'll find them, don't worry, Princess." She hesitated. "I just have one question—why'd you bring them here?—if you don't mind me asking."

"They have some making up to be doing as well."

* * *

><p>"Okay, so do we all know what we're doing?"<p>

Twilight looked at the assembled ponies. The five mares nodded resolutely. Satisfied, Twilight turned around to face the Everfree Forest that loomed gloomily before them.

"Alright, girls, let's go!"

**Author's Note:**

Eeyup. You can thank me later. I'm busy.


	19. So Much Awwwwwsome

A purple lump shifted in a patch of long, tangled grass. The thing took a few moments to pick itself up. Large ears stuck over the top of the grass.

Bonnie blinked his eyes wearily and glanced around. Trees surrounded him on all sides. There was no sign of any of his fellow animatronics anywhere.

"H-hello? Anyone there?" Bonnie called warily. He stood up shakily, his hands clasped to his chest. He took a few steps forward, eyes searching the murky forest. The bunny parted a clump of ferns and stepped past them. That was when he heard a snarl. He whipped around, eyes wide.

"Uh . . . hello?" he called. His voice was shaky. Another growl, but this time, it didn't sound as menacing as it had at first. "Um, hello?" Bonnie began to follow the now familiar sounding voice, and eventually it led him to a small cliff—a narrow crack—that seemed to go on for a while in both directions. The edge of the ground dropped away sharply. Roots, small shrubs, and a various assortment of rocks littered the soil.

"Freddy!" Bonnie exclaimed, blinking. Blue eyes turned towards him, glowing brightly in the dim light. The faint outline of Freddy could be seen.

"Bonnie?" he called, confused. "Bonnie! Hey, hey, uh . . . there's not a chance you could, um, help me up there, could you?"

Bonnie cocked his head. "Can't you get out yourself? It's not very far. Maybe a foot or two higher than you." Freddy growled something, seemingly embarrassed. Bonnie leaned over the cliff farther. "What was that?" Another low grumble. "Freddy, come on. We have good hearing but you're hardly pronunciating."

"I said, I can't!" Freddy snapped angrily.

"What?" Bonnie said incredulously. "Why?"

". . . My leg's falling apart."

"W-what?" Bonnie seemed almost amused.

"You idiot, don't you dare laugh at me." Freddy was furious. "My knee broke, moron. Now get me out of here."

"How'd you manage to do that?" Bonnie continued.

Freddy glowered up at him._ I'm going to punch him. And then I'll kill him._

"Listen, you oversized baboon, help me get myself up there. And that's an order!"

Bonnie sighed. Freddy was probably going to punch him, seeing how angry he was, but it was kind of amusing to see their leader unable to do something.

"Alright, uh, grab my hand," Bonnie suggested, sticking said appendage downward as far as he could. Freddy wobbled to his one good leg and stretched upwards, fumbling to get to Bonnie. His fingers twitched only an inch away.

"Come on, I can't go up anymore," Freddy huffed.

Bonnie frowned. "I can't scoot over the edge anymore either. If I do, I'll either fall or won't have enough traction to lift you out." He searched the slope for anything that could help them. "Hey, see that rock there? It's flat—to your left." He tilted an ear towards it. Freddy glanced over.

"Yeah, and it's to my _left._ That certain leg is useless right now."

"Come on, you've got to try. If you do step on it, it'll only be for a second. I can haul you up as soon as I get ahold of you." Bonnie twitched his nose, watching as Freddy contemplated.

Freddy hesitated. He couldn't move in either direction, so using his left leg would be the only option to go with. He muttered a swift curse and braced himself. Bonnie's hand was still there, waiting patiently.

"Best not be lying," Freddy mumbled, then picked up his left leg, set it on the rock, and leant all his weight on it. He propelled himself upward, easily reaching Bonnie. Immediately, his leg gave out (he swore he could feel a screw fall out as well) and Bonnie grunting reached his ears.

"Alright, good, good . . ."

"Urg, j-just hurry."

Bonnie grabbed Freddy's arm with both hands and pulled as hard as he could. As soon as he was close to the top of the cliff, he reached out with his other arm and hefted himself out farther. Bonnie grunted and dropped him.

"At least your stupid plan worked," Freddy groaned, laying on his back. He pulled himself into a sitting position and checked out his most likely nearly-in-two limb.

"I wish I had a screwdriver or something," Bonnie said, rubbing his chin. The plate covering Freddy's knee was gone, and one could easily see the support that connected both segments together. A screw was missing on one side and the whole thing was barely being held by the one still there.

"Yeah, me too." Freddy glanced around, trying to distract himself from his mobile problem. "But I think we should probably find out where we are."

Bonnie searched the trees. "Yes, that does seem like a good idea." He stood taller, pricking his ears. "Do you think Chica is in here somewhere?"

"Since we're here? Yes. Hopefully she's alright."

* * *

><p>"Whee!"<p>

Chica kicked her legs happily as her makeshift swing carried her back and forth. The tree branch the vine was wound around creaked forebodingly, but didn't break. She laughed, watching the shadowy forest with enthusiasm. Eventually, she hopped off her swing and began to roam. Watery shafts of sunlight pierced the holes in the canopy, leaving random splotches of murky yellow. Chica stuck her arms out at her side as she crossed a medium sized creek, an impromptu bridge composing of a fallen log wobbling as she traversed the length. At the end, she sprang off it and followed a hidden animal trail through a thicket.

_Wow, this is so cool! I wouldn't mind staying here . . . _Chica stepped around a root sticking from the ground. _I wonder where Freddy and Bonnie are._ She frowned. _Oh no, what about Mike? Did we leave him at the restaurant? The boss is going to be so upset. I don't envy Mike if that's the case._

* * *

><p>Sinister growling sounded from around them. Bonnie and Freddy sat on edge, their eyes searching the depths of the forest.<p>

"We should get out of here," Bonnie warned.

"Yes, I agree," Freddy said in an innocent tone. His voice turned sour. "But wait! I'm stuck with one leg! How am I supposed to walk?!"

Bonnie flinched back, but regained his grace. "Hop on one leg?"

"I doubt that'll work for long—if at all."

"You've gotta try." Bushes rustled close by. "And make it quick," Bonnie gulped.

Freddy sighed, shoulders drooping. He stuck his arms up. "Help an old man." Bonnie bent forward and snagged both of the bear's wrists, hauling him to his feet. Freddy wobbled for a few seconds, but regained his balance and used Bonnie as a support.

The bunny perked up. "Hey, I think I've got an idea! You know when we see kids that have broken their legs, and they have those things that they use to get around without the broken leg touching the ground?"

Freddy paused. "Crutches?"

"Exactly!" Bonnie grinned. "Maybe we can make some real quick. That'd help you." He carefully allowed Freddy to lean against a nearby tree and then poked through the surrounding bushes. His hand reached for a sturdy looking branch and nearly had a heart attack as it moved.

"Gah! What the heck?" Bonnie stammered, lurching backwards. Growls emanated from the "branch" and yellow eyes glowed fiercely. A lean creature burst from the copse, snarling.

"What is _that?!"_ Freddy exclaimed, pressing himself farther against the tree.

"Uh, tree thing?" Bonnie guessed weakly, backing away. The faintly dog-shaped creature was soon flanked by two others. Each of them were panting, drool leaking from their open maws.

"Maybe now would be a good time to panic."

"I agree." Bonnie let out a wild yell as one lunged for him. The bunny hopped away, narrowly avoiding being bit. He reached for Freddy and pulled him towards the bushes, determined to get out of there.

"Where are we going!?" Freddy shouted as Bonnie all but pulled him along.

"Don't ask me!" Bonnie yelped. "Sorry boss, but you're going to have to pretend you can run! Or else they"—a volley of yips sounded close behind—"are going to pretend we're food!"

Freddy let out something that sounded very much like a whine and braced for the shock of pain that followed immediately after he set the foot on the ground. He nearly collapsed straight away, but the hot breath puffing on their heels from the pack motivated him _not_ to fall to the dirty ground.

The two of them crashed through the forest, trampling low growing plants under their feet. The wooden canines continued after them. Sounds of the branches that rattled against one another as they moved were prominent.

Bonnie noticed Freddy getting a little behind. He latched onto his hand and yanked. Freddy stumbled and nearly toppled forward, but managed to stay on his feet.

"Come on, Freddy," Bonnie urged. He never thought he'd be the one telling what was technically his boss to keep going—especially when being chased by tree dogs.

"You try and run . . . with a broken leg," Freddy growled. He shot a quick glower at the bunny.

* * *

><p>Chica heard something. She turned in her spot, scanning the trees for what it was. Nothing caught her eye, however, and she went back to watching where she was going. That was when two blurs shot across her vision. They crossed her path, sprinting into the thick expanse of trees. Leaves and branches quivered where they'd disturbed their peaceful resting places.<p>

"Freddy, Bonnie?" Chica called after a moment, her shock still fresh. She blinked repeatedly. Then three—wait, are those wolves?—leapt over the path, their sleek bodies streamlined, disappearing into the brush a moment later with no more than a rustling of leaves.

"Uh, okay then." Chica started after them.

* * *

><p>Twilight had split the ponies into teams: her and Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack, and Rarity and Pinkie Pie. And as of now, she and Dash were trekking along a frequently used path—in fact, the one that led straight to the Castle of the Royal Sisters.<p>

"So that's the only reason Princess Luna gave you?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight ducked under a low growing branch. "Yes," she answered.

"Huh . . . I don't know how I feel about this." Dash frowned. "But if we find Freddy, the first thing I'm gonna do is punch him in the face." She smashed one hoof into the other.

Twilight gasped. "Dash, you can't go around hitting random . . ." She paused, admonishment trailing off. "Animatronics in the face."

Dash rolled her eyes. "Don't lie; you totally want to hit him too."

"Nooo . . ." Twilight glanced away. "Okay, maybe. But that doesn't mean I'm going to."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

"Rainbow!"

* * *

><p>Pinkie Pie bounced happily. Her tail waved in the air with each thrust off the ground. Rarity trotted in front of her, nose up and head held high. They were traveling through some sort of glade.<p>

"Do you think the others are broken like Foxy?" Pinkie asked.

"I doubt it. Though we didn't exactly see anything recent when we were in his head, so I suppose it's entirely possible," Rarity replied. She raised an eyebrow. "Pinkie, darling, why would you ask that?"

"I dunno! I was just curious I guess!" The party pony laughed at herself.

"Oh. Well, hopefully—if we run into one of them—we'll be accepted. I'd hate to have to stand in this swamp all day arguing."

"Yeah! I need to feed Gummy." Pinkie gasped. "Oh no, I need to feed Gummy!" She then thought about it for a second. "Wait, never mind. I fed him this morning!" Giggling, she thought about her little alligator.

Rarity rolled her eyes and smirked. "I say, you and your little . . . critter. Opalescence is far more sophisticated, however. Why you can be happy with a . . . _reptile_ is entirely beyond me." The unicorn shuddered.

"Gummy's great!" Pinkie cheered. "Oh, that's a _good_ one! Great Gummy, Great Gummy, Great Gummy!" She giggled. "Great Gummy garishly groomed Gertrude's groaning grey gorilla!"

Rarity sighed. "This is going to be a _long_ day."

* * *

><p>"Come on, 'shy. We ain't got time fer this."<p>

Applejack gently prodded the pegasus' hindquarters with an orange hoof. Fluttershy squeaked and a tremble went down her spine. Squirming her hind legs, she wormed her way farther into the shallow growing bush. Applejack sighed and clamped her teeth down on the soft yellow tail, dragging her friend into the open. Fluttershy squealed and covered her eyes with her hooves, wings stuck tightly to her sides.

"Please, sugar cube. We've got to get movin', else we aren't gon' find any of Foxy's little robot pals," AJ pressed, worry in her voice. "Nothin's gonna get ya."

Fluttershy quivered in fear. "B-but I heard a n-n-noise!" She pointed a shaking hoof towards a clump of berry bushes. Rolling her emerald green eyes, the farm pony swiveled around and approached the bundle. A hoof went forward and peeled the center apart, allowing them to see nothing but berries and branches.

"See? Nothin' there. Now can we please go?" Applejack asked. She was beginning to get desperate. "Ah don't want to make ya feel pressured, but we've still got a heck of a long way to go 'fore we reach anywhere we might be able to find one of 'em."

The creamy coated pegasus warily got to her hooves, wiping her eyes. "I-I'm sorry—it's just, you know, scary."

Applejack smiled gently. "'s alright, 'shy. Ah understand." She patted Fluttershy on the back. "Now come on; we've got work to do."

* * *

><p>"And is this a good word to describe somepony? Surreptitious?" Pinkie Pie rambled on. Rarity felt like her mane was fraying from just being there. "Ooh, I don't know . . . hey, hey, Rarity! Do you like the word beeswax?"<p>

_"Oh sweet Celestia kill me now and deliver me to paradise,"_ Rarity hissed under her breath. When she was prodded for a response, she stood straighter and cleared her throat. "Pinkie, I don't—"

_Thump_

Rarity flinched as something bumped against her snout. Pinkie jounced into her rump, stopping in her tracks. The unicorn's sapphire eyes blinked several times, then roved upwards. What appeared to be some sort of limb dangled in front of her face.

"AAAHH!" she shrieked and flew backwards, jarring Pinkie. The party pony merely jumped back a few paces, eyes bright and unsuspecting. Rarity screamed and reared up on her hind legs, forelegs churning at the air. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let out a series of_"Eeewww"_'s and scrunched her nose. Eventually, she tired of this and settled down. Rarity looked more intently at the appendage.

"Ew—_ew, ew_—why is there a . . ." Rarity trailed off—she didn't know what this was. Eyes narrowing in scrutiny, she hesitantly reached a polished hoof up and swatted the thing quickly. The limb swung slightly. "What is this? Are those . . ." As she thought more thoroughly about the subject, she realized she did indeed recognize this type of appendage. "This is a hand. Why—oh dear me—why, is there an arm hanging oh-so blatantly from this tree?" She gazed up at it.

Pinkie shrugged. "Maybe someone left it there. Maybe Lyra?"

"Pinkie, darling, I very much doubt"—groan—"please don't make such sounds, it's not very ladylike."

Pinkie frowned, tilting her head. "I didn't groan."

Rarity's mouth dropped open just barely. "Uh, but I just heard you."

"Are you sure you didn't hear the hand?"

Rarity and Pinkie both watched in stunned silence as the fingers on the limb began to twitch ever so slightly. The unicorn's face turned to sheer horror and Pinkie's mouth fell open. Now, not only was the arm moving, but it was pulling itself back into the tree!

If Rarity wasn't already white as snow, she'd be then. "Uh huh, well, uh, Pinkie, maybe we should back up"—the party pony leapt forward and snagged the hand, tugging it—"oh for Celestia's sake, _get over here!"_

"Wakey wakey!" Pinkie called. She gave one more hard yank and the _thing_ came crashing out of the tree onto the ground. Rarity squealed, jumping back.

"Pinkie Pie!" the unicorn screamed. She stomped a hoof in anger. Pinkie glanced over, then focused on the creature that had fallen out of the tree.

"I think he's hurt, Rares," Pinkie said with a frown.

Rarity hesitated for a moment. "How do you know it's a he?" She stepped forward to gaze down upon him. It had the faint resemblance of one of the creatures from the other world—Zach, that was it. Only this one didn't look as small.

"Hell_oooo?"_ Pinkie called, waving a hoof in front of his face. There was no response. Next, she tried to open his eyes—nothing there, they were rolled back in his head.

"We should get him back to Ponyville," Rarity stated. She used her magic to prop him up, then allowed Pinkie to slide under his back. She stood up and his feet were still touching the ground. "Oh my, this one has long legs. Come along, let's try something else."

* * *

><p>The dogs were still after them. Bonnie and Freddy—whose leg was very close to being ripped off—sprinted as fast as they could through the undergrowth. After him, Bonnie could hear Freddy falling behind little by little.<p>

"Come on, Freddy. Keep going," the bunny urged.

"Yeah, j-just you try and—" Freddy's voice cut out with a yelp as he fell. There was a series of shouts and barks. Bonnie skidded to a halt and turned around, only for a wooden canine to leap at his chest. He threw a fist out and managed to catch the beast in the muzzle. It was blasted into hundreds of pieces.

"Whoa! Freddy!" Said animatronic's form appeared from a bush, several new scratches coating his metal. He turned to look.

"Yes, I discovered that mere moments after I was tackled," Freddy said, limping over to Bonnie.

"You okay?" the bunny asked.

"Not much worse than earlier. I'd just like to, you know, get out of here."

"Me too."

Freddy and Bonnie started off at a slower pace, since the canines were scattered all over the forest floor.

* * *

><p>Chica wasn't that far behind the two boys when she came across a footprint. It wasn't exactly a foot, however—more of a U shape. She studied it briefly and then began to follow them. They weaved through a bramble thicket, and then there was some sort of clearing. And that was when another pair of tracks became visible. They appeared not a long distance away from the first prints.<p>

"What's going on here?" Chica asked herself in suspicion. She scrutinized the tracks and decided to continue following. As she came to the end of the clearing, the second tracks vanished again. Her eyes widened, then narrowed.

"Is this some sort of trick?" she hissed, placing her hands on her hips. She checked the canopy that loomed over her head. Leaves waved in the wind from above.

* * *

><p>Fluttershy swooped over Applejack's head as there was no need for her to walk down on the ground among the pokey thorns. As soon as her friend was out of the patch, she tucked in her wings and landed in the soft dirt. She took a few quick paced steps before falling into her cycle.<p>

"I'm afraid that we'll miss them," Fluttershy said. "What if we walk by them and don't even notice?"

"Ah'll be the first to say that this here forest is darn annoyin'. Everythin' we track ends up in here fer some odd reason. Dang coincidences," Applejack growled. She shook her head in disdain.

"I agree." She looked back where she was going. There was another narrow path, but thankfully, still room for her to fly. "I'll take to the air again."

"Alright, 'shy. Keep an eye out."

"I will."

* * *

><p>"Right through here . . ." Chica murmured to herself, following the solo set of tracks. She quickened her pace, determined to find the source of the prints. They seemed to get fresher and fresher (though she was no expert on how that really worked), so she was sure the owner was nearby.<p>

". . . anythin'?"

Chica focused in on the voice. The accent sounded faintly like her pirate friend. Her curiosity now peaked, the animatronic rushed forward in a quirky run.

"No. I don't see—" Another voice cut off. "Wait, I hear something." Chica stopped and approached more slowly.

"Ya think it's one of those robots?" asked the first voice in its now identifiable female accent.

Chica gasped. They were looking for them! Maybe these were nice . . . whatever-they-ares! She quickly went to confront the speakers.

"Oh—oh!" came the second voice, which belonged to a yellow horse . . . with wings. Chica stopped, confused.

"Uh, hi?" she guessed.

The orange one smiled. "Well, howdy there! Ah reckon you've saved us a ton 'a time."

* * *

><p>"Here, let's rest for a little bit," Bonnie said. He led Freddy into a small alcove in the side of a sudden drop-off. The bear slumped down immediately, sighing. His eyes closed, and he allowed himself to rest for a little while. Bonnie sat down next to him, hands on his knees.<p>

"Is . . . is it dark yet?" Freddy asked, cracking one blue eye open after a few minutes of silence.

Bonnie glanced up at the sky. "No."

"Ugh."

Bonnie blinked and looked over at Freddy. "You okay, boss?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He rubbed his face. "I'm just . . . tired. I mean, just look where we are right now." He gazed wearily at Bonnie. "Just let me think." Bonnie hummed in reply and glanced away, keeping an eye out for any wandering beasts. It wasn't that much later when a rustling of leaves sounded from the surrounding trees. Yellow eyes glowed in the bushes.

"Uh . . . Freddy?" Bonnie asked quietly.

Freddy grunted. "W't?" His eyes were still closed.

"Do you happen to remember what color the eyes of those doggy things were?"

"Odd question." He thought for a moment. "Yellow, I think."

Bonnie frowned. "That's what I was afraid of."

Finally opening his eyes, Freddy glared over at Bonnie. "What are you—" He stopped. One of the lean creatures snuck from the edges of the forest. Two more made themselves visible as well. Freddy jumped, straining to get himself to his feet. Bonnie followed after, eyes wide.

"I thought we killed those things!" Freddy exclaimed. Bonnie grimaced.

"I thought we did too," he replied. The dogs closed in, rancid-looking saliva dripping from their parted jaws. Their paws carried them across the leaf-strewn forest floor. Bonnie glanced around, searching desperately for an escape route. There seemed to be none.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Timber-wolf Vanquishers, YAY!"

Three small creatures—one orange, one yellow, and one white—flew from the trees, vines in their grasps. They fell from the vines and each landed on a wolf, crushing them into bits. Once done, they turned to Bonnie and Freddy.

"Come on, there's no time to lose!" the orange one yelled. She turned to the side and the others followed, exposing small wings on her back. The white one had some sort of protrusion sticking from her head, and the yellow with a large pink bow.

"Them Timber-wolves will be up 'fore ya know it!" cried the yellow one.

"Yeah! We've got to get to safety," agreed the white one in a squeaky voice. Bonnie and Freddy exchanged glances. The three equines raced off, tails and maroon capes flying behind them. Not wanting to be left behind, the animatronics ran after them. They could faintly see the shapes of them running through the forest, ducking under branches and leaping over protruding roots. Finally, dim sunlight poured in large quantities through the trees. The exit was close by.

"We're out!" Bonnie exclaimed in surprise, a grin spreading across his face.

"Finally," Freddy groaned, sinking into the grass. He fiddled idly with his leg.

"Is your leg okay?" came the yellow one's voice. Freddy glanced up into the sunset eyes of the girl.

"No. I can't exactly say that it is."

"Sorry." She paused. "Well, Ah'm Apple Bloom!"

"I'm Sweetie Belle!"

"And I'm Scootaloo!"

"Bonnie."

"Freddy."

Sweetie tipped her head. "I've never heard the name "Freddy" before. Though I know a mare named Bon Bon."

"How did you know we were there?" Bonnie asked.

Scootaloo turned around. "Well, Foxy has been here for a while. We've never been allowed to meet him (Rainbow Dash says he's dangerous for our age) but we kind of . . . _overheard_ that the 'others' were here. So we had to come and check it out!"

"Though we had to keep it secret because we didn't want any of them to get mad at us, plus we didn't even know who 'others' meant," Sweetie added.

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yup! And when we saw the Timber-wolves closin' in on ya, we couldn't waste a single second!" She quickly checked her flank, as did the others. They shared brief looks of disappointment.

"You guys are so cool, too. Wish we could hang out with Foxy," Scootaloo complained. Her wings drooped. "Anyways, we should get you back to Ponyville. I think Spike is still at the library."

"Yeah. Let's go," Sweetie agreed.

"Wait, a what?" Freddy asked, confused.

"A library?" the filly guessed. She cocked her head.

"Come on, Freddy. Let's not waste any more time," Bonnie urged. Freddy glared up at him for a brief moment, then stuck up his arms. Taking the hint, Bonnie stooped over and hauled him to his feet.

"Hmm . . . maybe Ah could help ya?" Apple Bloom suggested.

"How are _you_ going to help me?" Freddy asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Ah'm really good at buildin' things. If Ah could just take a quick glance at your leg, Ah'm sure Ah could help ya."

Bonnie looked at Freddy. "Wouldn't hurt to try." Besides, they were forced to trust these little girl horses, and apparently they had Foxy.

Grumbling, Freddy rolled his eyes, "Fine."

"Alright! Just stay still . . ." Apple Bloom instructed, standing on her hind legs. She eyed his broken left knee carefully, then dropped to all fours. She quickly trotted off, going into the forest with no explanation. The filly returned a minute later, a long expanse of vine in her mouth. She spit it out at his feet and looked over to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

"If you gals could find two very long and sturdy branches—preferable with a y—it'd be much appreciated," Apple Bloom said. Nodding, her friends galloped off into the forest. Once gone, the yellow filly then pulled the bow off her head. She unraveled it and then made it into a sort of padding.

"Ah'm gon' put this on your knee and then fasten it with this here vine," Apple Bloom explained as she pressed her dismantled bow on his knee. She wrapped the strong vine around it, using hooves and teeth to get it tied. Once that was done, Freddy tried to move his leg, which she grunted at.

"Don't move your leg. It'll undo mah work." Apple Bloom glanced towards the tree line. "Ah hope those gals get back here soon. And hopefully they'll have known what Ah was lookin' fer." She looked back down at the extra amount of vine she had at her hooves. While they were waiting, she collected a few thick sticks, testing their strength.

"Are these good enough?" came Scootaloo's questioning voice.

Apple Bloom looked up. "Yup, those look just fine. Bring 'em here." She padded towards Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who were carrying the branches across their backs. They were shaped quite nicely, so Apple Bloom began comparing the sticks to the branches, adjusting the length, and lashed them all together. Once she was done, they looked quite well put together.

"Are those crutches?" Bonnie asked, pointing.

"Why, yes. As ponies, we don't really use 'em, but Ah've read books on the subject. They're mostly used for upright walkers—minotaurs are the only ones I've seen usin' 'em—an' that was only one time." She held them up to Freddy. "Here ya go. Try 'em out."

"Oh. Alright," Freddy said warily, taking them, leg sticking out awkwardly. He positioned them how he remembered the several kids did. He glanced over at Bonnie. "This look right?"

"Yeah, I'd say so," was his reply. "Boss, why don't you take a little stroll?"

"If I can even move with them." Freddy wobbled a bit as he stood straighter. Then he used his weight to propel himself forward.

"Hey, you're doing pretty well," Scootaloo complimented.

"Yeah," Sweetie Belle agreed.

"Ya feel comfortable?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Think so," Freddy replied. "Nice handiwork, kid."

"T-thanks. It was really no problem." She smiled, a light blush on her cheeks. "Alright, why don't we head to Ponyville?"

**Author's Note:**

I gotta say, I loved writing this chapter. And my my, last chapter you got the other animatronics, and now the Cutie Mark Crusaders the _very _next chapter? I'm on a roll here. And you guessed it, Freddy and AB are gonna be the cutest friends! Maybe take a little time and guess the other pony-animatronic pals in the comments? _*smooth, me, smooth*_

P.S: I tried a different style with the animatronics. They're located on my profile.

I also want to take the time to thank every one of you from the bottom of my heart for actually liking this! I never expected it to get so popular. Nineteen chapters in, and we're not even close to done. Hopefully I'm not disappointing anyone so far. Peace out~


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